Pandora's Box
by FlowersbyLily
Summary: Sequel to Yin Yang. Sam and Julie have found a routine that works for them and even Dean started dating again. What has become of Lena? ? Will the new girl become the love of Dean's life? And of course another apocalypse on the rise. Strong lge
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, for all those who enjoyed Yin Yang and where angry with me for its ending, here is the sequel. Unlike before where the story had been finished before I put anything on the net, now I am writing and posting it as I go. Should be more difficult but this way I'll get feedback along the way which will help me improve what's to come. **

**For those who haven't read Yin Yang, it's not particularly necessary but you would enjoy/understand the OCs more if you do: **.net/s/5021582/1/Yin_Yang

**Without further ado.... the first chapter.**

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Chapter 1: Skipping the Beat

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'Crap!' Julie yelled to herself in the mirror.

'What is it hun?' Sam asked peeping his head through the door.

'You!' she huffed squinting her eyes, 'it's all your fault!'

'What did I do?' Sam replied shrinking to only half his size.

'I'm fat and it's all because of you,' she said tearing up.

'Oh hunny, come here, you're not fat you're absolutely stunning,' he said enveloping her with one arm while the other rubbed her swollen stomach.

'Besides,' Sam added, 'we should be thrilled, we at least know that she's growing strong and big.'

'You think so?' Julie asked sniffing away her tears looking up at her husband.

'I know so,' Sam replied bending his head kissing away the involuntary tears Julie's hormonal system produced.

She sighed in reply: 'but I still don't have anything to wear tonight.'

'What do you say if you and I go to the mall right now, it's still open for another hour.'

'Thank you,' she said. She realize Sam would honestly do anything for her, like just the other night when she wanted roasted chicken and he had to drive all the way across town for it but when he came back she had fallen back to sleep and instead of being angry he just sighed and smiled and went back to lay close to her, listening to her heart beat.

**************

'Hey, you ready?' Dean asked as the pretty blonde opened the door.

'Give me ten more minutes, take a seat in the living room,' she replied.

Dean went over to the kitchen and grabbed a beer as he planted his ass on one of the barstools.

'You really think this is a good idea?' the blonde yelled from the bathroom.

'What?'

'Me meeting your friends and family on your brother's wedding anniversary?'

'Why not?'

'Isn't it a bit much? It's not exactly casual now is it?'

'Doll, you're with the Winchesters, everything is casual.'

'Yeah, that's why you are wearing a suit?' she bit back as she came into the kitchen.

Dean almost choked on his beer, he truly was looking at an angel.

'Waw, Ang, you look, waw,' Dean was at a loss for words.

Angela smiled and thanked God that searching two weeks for the perfect black cocktail dress hadn't been in vain because that was exactly the reaction she had been hoping for. She wanted everything to go perfect tonight, she wanted to celebrate her boyfriend's brother two-year anniversary but most of all she wanted to be accepted. She had heard many anecdotes about the entire group but she hadn't been invited until now. She knew a lot depended on tonight because of the way Dean spoke about his family, he had the utter most respect for each and every one of them and she knew that if any of them had an objection against her she would be out. Suddenly her heart skipped a beat. Her heart was doing that often the last few weeks. The first time that it happened was a few weeks after she had been accepted by Dr Laurie in the hospital. She had wanted to build herself a life in Connecticut, she had seen one too many episodes of Gilmore Girls and decided to find a town similar to Stars Hollow. Instead she landed in a crappy one-bedroom flat in an average big city. The only luck she had encountered was landing that job at the hospital. Dr Laurie had been wonderful, though she wasn't an MD but an emergency nurse, he had treated her with respect not like the other doctors who treated her like their personal slave or sometimes even scapegoat when something went wrong. She had liked Dr Laurie but all those feelings went away when her heart skipped a beat when she was on triage duty. A thirty-something male had placed himself between a young girl with a broken leg and an older man who couldn't stop coughing. He had a white-red chequered towel over his arm which appeared to be stained with blood. Suddenly Angela, who normally had all her ducks in a row couldn't stop herself from going over.

'Hi, what's wrong with you today?' she said bending her head a little like she was talking to a five year old.

'Nothing bad, you should treat him first,' he said nodding towards the cougher.

Angela agreed and led the old man to an exam-room. While she was doing the preliminary exams her mind never stopped going back to that crowded waiting room. She couldn't believe she had been able to still breathe after he had looked into her eyes with those painfully intense green eyes, her heart had skipped a beat.

When she returned to the waiting room he was still there, trying to keep himself awake by rubbing his eyes and stretching his legs from time to time. Just as she was about to approach him again, she heard that a gunshot victim was being brought in, and a she was still trying to decide which took precedence she listened to her meds degree and not her hormones so she rushed out to the ambulance parking lot.

When the gunshot victim had been officially declared dead she went back to the waiting room without much hope but he was still there and finally she took him to an exam room but as she closed the door behind them her heart skipped a beat.

'Name,'

'Clint Mansell,' he replied.

'Like the composer?' she asked sceptically.

'Yep, great, great grandfather,' he replied with a gigantic smile.

'But he ain't dead yet,' she replied squinting her eyes.

'Must be a different composer then.' He replied and though she knew it was a blatant lie she could not refuse that smug smile of his. She had lied on hospital papers before so the uninsured would still get treatment, this was no different or so she told herself.

'So what have we gotten ourselves into tonight?' she asked peering at the towel.

'Nothing yet but the night still young right?' he said with a devilish grin lifting his eyebrows, like she wouldn't understand the meaning of that phrase otherwise. Her heart didn't skip a beat but began racing instead.

'Sir, your arm?' she pointed trying to stay focused.

'Just a tiny cut,' he replied while carefully lifting the towel.

'Oh my God, keep that on the wound and apply pressure, blood is just gushing out.' She almost yelled as she picked up the phone and paged the plastic surgeon, who would be pissed that he would be called in for something other than a boob job but she didn't care, her patient would get the best care that she could give.

And so it happened, six weeks ago she had given the best care to her patient and since then her patient had been taking care of her.

He had fessed up to his real name and if she had been ten years old her diary would have been plastered with Mrs Dean Winchester and hearts but now her heart just kept skipping beats.

'Where did you go?' Dean asked.

'Nowhere,' Angela smiled trying to get back from the night she fell hard for this man.

**********************

'Julie you look absolutely radiant, even more beautiful than two years ago when you married the ogre.'

'Thank you Dean,' Julie replied blushing her face red.

'What? Why do you believe him and not me when I say you're beautiful,' Sam argued.

Julie slowly turned her head towards Sam and said very calmly: 'because he doesn't use me as his incubator,' clenching her teeth.

'Guys, please, don't embarrass me, this is Angela,' Dean intervened.

'Hi it's really nice meeting you all finally,'

'Angela, this is my brother Sam,'

'Hi, Angela, Dean has told us a lot about you, how you saved his life and all,' Sam said winking.

'I did no such thing, that's too much credit,' Angela said absolutely beaming with pleasure, she playfully hit Dean.

Dean had never said that to Sam but Sam knew how to make a woman feel very, very welcome.

'This is Julie, his very pregnant wife,' Dean continued, 'this big fellow is Andy and he's been doing Christina for... how long now sweetheart?'

'Almost eleven years,' Christina said, 'hi it's nice to meet you,' she added shaking Angela's hand.

'And these two are Katie and Chris,'

'Hi,' Katie said shaking her hand as well.

'So two Chrisses huh, this could become complicated,' Angela said nervously, unfortunately no one understood the joke.

'So should we go in?' Dean asked trying to relieve the uncomfortable silence that had come down on the group.

'Yeah, yeah absolutely,' Sam answered with a lot of nods and agreement from the others.

The eight people went in the fancy restaurant Sam and Julie had chosen and headed to what could only be called an uncomfortable evening.

'So Julie,' Angela said, 'how far along are you?'

'About five months and a couple of weeks,'

'You know what the sex is going to be?'

'Ang, be polite please we're in a restaurant,' Dean said jokingly.

'No,' she hastily said blushing red, 'I meant the baby's,'

Unfortunately everyone had to laugh at Angela's obliviousness, they were all so used to Dean's dirty jokes that they no longer found them idiotic and childish. It made Julie think back to the time where her best friend was in the seat where Angela was sitting now. She would've slapped Dean on the back of his head and she would have told him off. Suddenly she really missed her friend.

'Well no we want to keep it a surprise,' Julie said when the giggling tied down.

'It's a girl,' Sam intervened.

'Yeah he keeps saying that it's a girl, actually he's counting on it but I'm not sure yet,' Julie added.

Dessert came and no big disasters had come down during dinner. Angela had even found a friend in Katie, but when she got up to go to the bathroom all tongues came untied.

'So,' Dean asked not looking up because he felt six pairs of eyes staring at him and the apple pie in front of him somehow seemed friendlier.

'She's nice,' Julie finally said.

'That's it?' he said looking up.

'What else can we say Dean?' Christina uttered, 'I mean we hardly know her, she seems perfectly fine,'

Christina's statement was agreed upon with the rest of the table.

'So that's all you got to say, _she's nice_? Well thank you very much.' Dean said gulping down his last piece.

'Look Dean, like Chris said, we hardly know her. I mean how long is this going to last? Another six weeks or so? Does she know what we do?'

'No she doesn't and she never will.' Dean replied reminiscing the catastrophe that had occurred two years ago; 'look I don't know where this is going, okay! It's still new and fresh and I don't do long relationships, but for now I had wished I had the support of my friends.' Dean said and when he finished his sentence he threw his napkin on his plate and escorted Angela who just came out of the bathroom out to the parking lot.

Angela didn't know what to say or ask, and though she hadn't known Dean for a very long time she knew not to disturb as he drove them to his house. She was surprised, apparently dinner had been a disaster, she could tell that much, but nevertheless he had taken her to his home, for the first time.

******************

Colin couldn't believe his luck.

He had been yanked out of his sofa by his trusty friends, who decided to cheer him up after his girlfriend had dumped him. He hadn't been able to sleep, eat or drink for days now and apparently his friends had had enough. But it didn't do much, he had been sitting in the boot listening to his friends chatter and nursing his beer, all the while wishing he was at home in front of the TV which was showing a horrible B-movie, no doubt. His friends were constantly pushing him to go up to a girl and asking her out, they didn't understand that the least he wanted was female company. For all he cared the entire race could burn in hell. How in hell's name could she dump him after all he had done for her? How could she flush a relationship of six months through the drain?

'Colin!'

'What?' he replied looking up from his golden ale.

'Look at that one! The lanky blonde at the bar.'

'Are you nuts? She's twenty-four or something!'

'So, you do know that cougars are prowling these days, look at Demi!'

'Who?'

'Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend,'

'Oh her,'

'Come on man, she's been eyeing you all evening you have to go and talk to her and do justice to mankind!' Alexander, Colin's best friend pushed.

Colin glanced carefully at the bar and cursed his friend because he was right, the blonde was now even winking and smiling at him, but he ignored it and went back to nursing his beer.

All of a sudden things changed though. When a brown haired woman walked in and went straight to the bar, he hadn't been checking the door but when she opened it, it was like a slow-motion scene when time stood still because the hero found his true love. The hero could smell it in the air and she would know the instant their eyes would meet. So Colin stared at her hoping she would turn around but she didn't. He studied her clothes and found them interesting, she had a blue pair of jeans on and a black simple tee with a fitting black leather jacket. Every now and then he could see her eyes as she faced the mirror that was hanging behind the liquor. He saw some kinship as her eyes screamed torture and pain, just like it did in his. She had known pain and survived, he wanted to know her secret. He noticed that she was alone there, her eyes fleetingly touched the bottles and the faces in the bar but it was obvious she wasn't waiting for anyone. It was more like she came in for a drink after a hard day's work.

'If you don't go up to her, I will!' Alexander said.

'Who? The blonde, go ahead my friend.' Colin said unaware that his staring had turned various heads in the bar.

'No the brunette idiot! Look at me, I'm getting up.' He said while slowly getting up giving his friend the time to intervene, surprisingly he did.

'Fine! Just get off my back!'

'Fine!' Alexander replied grinning that for the first time in a week he saw his friend's passion again.

Colin felt like someone had changed the rubber on his shoes and had made them iron. So with iron boots he stumbled to a woman absolutely breathtaking by any measure and at least seven or eight years older than himself but he didn't care anymore because she would feel the kinship too.

'Hi, I'm Colin' he stammered.

Slowly the brown-haired goddess turned her head and then she did something that he hadn't expected, he looked him up and down as if he were a piece of meat. She nodded in approval but he took it as a sort of greeting.

'Can I buy you a drink,' he now shouted over the music.

'And then what?' she asked.

'Maybe we could have a chat?' he said a bit stunned by her question.

'Here? With this crowd and this music? You didn't come here to talk!'

'Actually I didn't come here at all, I was kidnapped, please save me!' he said suddenly confident of himself. And she noticed it too, a little smile crept up. She downed her scotch and said: 'come on then, let's go,'

Colin followed the goddess outside and nodded at his friends right before he closed the door. He couldn't believe his luck, not only was he following his heroine, she walked straight to the most beautiful car in the lot. A red '65 Mustang, how awesome was she!

The ride over had been mostly silent, except for him exclaiming how cool her car was. She tended to agree.

He had found it very odd that the car had come with a seedy motel, but like the gentleman he was he hadn't commented on it.

'How old are you?' she suddenly asked pulling into the parking lot.

'Twenty-two,' he replied.

'Liar,'

'Old enough,'

She didn't answer, she just smiled a little.

He still couldn't believe his luck when he entered the room which was cosy at best. The cowboy-theme though, he liked. The goddess had turned off the lights the moment they had entered the already badly lit room. It was obvious to him that she wanted the lights out for whatever was going to go down here. Later he discovered why, though the curtains were closed some streetlight was still able to penetrate the room and as she had taken off her jacket and shirt he had seen the bruises and even two or three scars on her back. After seeing those he could no longer contain the chivalrous night that had been residing in him always and he took down the bra-straps while kissing her neck, and as he took off her bra he supported her breasts and wiped away the long chestnut hair.

Now he was lying on his back while the goddess was straddling him and though he had found her absolutely gorgeous before he now saw her faults in the dim light. As he placed his hands on her hips, he gripped them tight but noticed that there was not much to grip. She was way too thin if you asked him but then on the other hand, when he had caressed her stomach she had tensed up and he could feel the strong abs.

She remained a mystery to him and as he was about to climax he said panting: 'What's your name?'

But she groaned: 'it doesn't matter, it's just you and me,' and for the first time she looked him straight in the eyes not avoiding them as she did in the beginning. This resulted in him coming over and over again.

She got off him and got under the sheets, she turned his back on him and though he was quite confused at how one woman could have this great effect on him he turned to her caressing her side.

'Did you euhm... finish?' he asked uncertain.

'No, but I had fun,' she said faking fatigue, uncertain of what his next step would be he decided the best a hero should do was cuddle close and he spooned her.

'I think you should go now,' she said not turning around

'Yeah, sure,' he said completely thrown off balance, while his fairytale world was crashing down on him. This wasn't his princess, nor his goddess, this was just a woman who was looking for some distraction in a bar. But before he could turn the knob on the door, she spoke and made everything all right again: 'it's Lena by the way.' She trusted him with her name and he didn't just have anonymous sex. He was the prince, she the princess and the pain they both knew was their dragon, which they had slain together for just this night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey all! Sorry it took so long but I was citytripping last week (went to Berlin, which was awesome) so that's why the delay. I hope you like it, keep in mind I'm setting some stuff up so if you're disappointed with this one normally the next chapter should kick everything off.**

**BTW if you like my OCs drop me line in a review.**

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**Chapter 2: Too Many Scary Creatures and Not a Lot of Love.

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_It was the heat of the moment_

_Telling me what your heart meant_

_Heat of the moment shone in your eyes_

_And now you find yourself in 82_

_The disco hotspots hold no charm for you_

_You cant concern yourself with bigger things_

_You catch the pearl and ride the dragons wings_

Lena looked at her cell as the familiar tune filled the grungy motel room. She was getting used to the cowboys-theme, though she was confused as to why there would be cowboy-themes in North-Dakota anyway.

She decided to take the call, he would keep calling anyway.

'Hi, this is Lena,' she said in her chirpy I'm-a-secretary voice.

'Yeah of course it's Lena, I still know what to dial!' the man on the other side yelled, adding to Lena's enjoyment.

'How may I help you?' she continued.

'Drop the act girly and get your butt over here as soon as you can.'

'You can't tell me what to do you know,' she said matter-of-factly.

'Oh yes I can, you're coming over or I'm tracking you down.'

'What?' Lena pulled the phone from her ear and saw that a red light was beeping, 'you turned on my GPS? That's a violation of my privacy. This is not funny Bobby!'

'Oh good, you're in North Dakota, I'm expecting you for dinner.' Bobby said with a smile on his face.

'You're a Tiran you know that, no actually now I come to think of it you're a manipulating mom!'

'No girly I'm a dad! Now stop hassling me!'

Bobby got her there, for all intense and purposes he was her father, she just needed to deal with that.

'Fine,' she sighed, 'I have a meeting first and then I'll drive over.'

**********************

'So,' Angela said stretching beneath the white sheets.

'So,' Dean mimicked squinting his eyes against the morning light that was pouring in through the window.

Angela hugged her knees as she sat up, Dean noticed her spine and the golden locks that fell loosely on her back.

'What are you staring at?' Angela asked tilting her head.

'The perfect woman?' He replied.

'That's too corny!'

'Yeah I realized it the minute it came out of my mouth,' he smiled.

'So,' she said again while scanning the bedroom.

'You keep saying that but you don't seem to finish it.' Dean said.

'So... you lived with a woman before huh?' she stated calmly.

'How'd you figure that?' he replied defensively.

'It's okay Dean, why haven't you told me? You know I wouldn't have minded?'

'It's no big deal,' he sighed and got up.

'Why are her pictures still up then?'

'Actually Julie took those.' Dean remarked putting on his jeans.

'Dean, wait! Sit down! You're not going to tell me that you put up these pictures made by your sister-in-law.'

'Why not, they're nice?' he said sitting back down with his bare back turned to her.

'Dean come on, who was she?'

'No one, just a woman I used to date.' He said hunching.

'How long did you two dated, or lived together?' she asked.

'Hunny, why are you asking me this? You're not jealous now are you?' Dean tried to shift the subject by smiling his most beautiful smile at her.

'No, I just want to know more about you. Come on, please tell me.' She said pouting her lips getting Dean back for the Angelic smile he threw her.

Dean couldn't resist and reluctantly answered; 'we were together for the better part of two years and half,'

'What was she like?' Angela dared carefully, though she had to swallow hard when she heard Dean was actually capable of a long-term thing.

'She was great,' he admitted, 'she was a not so successful writer. And we had a lot of fun, a lot of fights too now I come to think of it,' Dean said scratching the back of his neck.

'So why did she leave you? One too many fights?' Angela hadn't picked up on the fact that Dean really, really, really didn't want to talk about it but he answered nonetheless because Angela was his girlfriend, his woman now and she deserved to know.

So he signalled with his fingers.

'You left her?'

'Yeah,' he said dipping his head.

'Why?'

'It's complicated.' He replied turning away from her again.

She finally got the hint and crawled over to him. She pressed her bare breasts against his naked back and started kissing his neck. Normally Dean would go crazy for this but now he felt a bit dirty, like he was betraying someone. He shook of that feeling and all the thoughts that just had been brought forward again he put back where they belonged, in a small locked box in his mind. And when he had done that, he kissed his angel back and his jeans became untied again.

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Lena was nervously awaiting Astrid, she had led her into her office but had then disappeared on her. For some reason Lena just knew that Astrid was going to break some bad news to her. Just before Lena lost her mind, Astrid walked back in.

'So,' the tall dark-haired woman said as she took a seat next to Lena's in front of the large oak desk instead of behind it, another bad sign.

'Lena hun, we go back a long way now,' she said putting a hand on Lena's knee, which made Lena extremely uncomfortable.

'Just spit it out okay, I'm a grown woman. I'm no longer that fragile thing that came knocking six years ago. Where are you going with this?' Lena replied.

'It's the new manuscript,' she said hesitantly.

'What about it?'

'I can't publish it.' She said with regret in her voice.

Lena didn't know how to react, she was actually stunned by the rejection. After being rejected over and over again by every publishing house, Astrid had been the one that had published all her books up to now and she had been thrilled with them from the beginning, whether the sales were good or bad. Now that Lena thought about it, sales had never been better. Her last three books were going into their second and even third printing. The one she wrote in Europe, _Roots_, was even being translated in various other languages. She had even refused offers from other publishers because she felt she owed Astrid her success or failure.

'Look hun, you know what kind of books roll out of here, Romantic novels. We shouldn't have even published _Roots_ but I pulled some strings because I like you but this last one it's going too far.'

'What do you mean, they're all selling well, I don't see the problem.' Lena said confused.

'Look, _Roots_, was probably the best book I ever read. A woman going back to her home trying to find out where it went wrong, all the while trying to get over the man who broke her heart in a million tiny pieces. I mean, it took my breath away.'

Lena nodded uncomfortably as if Astrid knew the entire thing had been based on her own life.

'And you made it even more poignant by letting your heroine fight actual demons, while everyone knows it was a metaphor for the pain she was experiencing but it was thrilling just the same.' she continued.

'A metaphor, yeah right,' Lena muttered.

'What?'

'Nothing,'

'Look, I have a friend over at a thriller publishing house, he has been begging me to let you go and I'm sure you and him will get along great. Because hunny, let's face it, though the first one in your new genre definitely had that psychological aspect, the last two and this manuscript are solely thrillers with lots of meaningless sex and an empty heroine who lost her way. The psychology aspect has completely dissolved and made way for changelings, vampires and werewolves, which is fine' she continued, 'but it's not us.'

Lena gulped at the words: _meaningless sex and an empty heroine_? Was that who she had become? She didn't consider herself a heroine but she did write about her own life. The shock hit her hard as she was dumped by her publisher and the fact that she was now officially heartless in the literal sense.

'Thank you Astrid, I appreciate everything you have done for me. And I will get in touch with your friend.'

Lena started to make her way to the door but Astrid stopped her.

'How have you been lately Lena?'

'Me? I'm fine,' she replied with a smile on her face. Lena had become an expert in hiding her true self and placing on a mask.

'Good, good,' Astrid replied fooled by the expertly designed disguise, 'You talked to Dean lately?'

'Who?'

'Dean Winchester? The hero in all of your romantic novellas? Come on, you honestly thought I didn't know it was him?' Astrid said triumphantly like it was such a hard code to crack, everyone who knew both of them back then knew her short stories were based on Dean's life.

'He's fine, I think,'

'So that's a _no_ on the talking?'

'Yeah, that's a _no_.' Lena replied almost sighing and shaking her head as she left the building.

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'Shouldn't we get up?' Angela asked.

'Why?' Dean replied muffled through the golden hair as he had placed his head in the nook of her head and shoulder.

'Because I'm starting to get hungry.'

Dean always replied to the word hunger, whenever, wherever... if anyone mentioned it he would get that rumbling feeling in his stomach.

'Let's go then,' he said as he jumped back in his jeans and led her downstairs.

'So this is it huh?' Angela wasn't exactly that hungry, she never was in the morning just a cup of joe would suffice, but she was damn curious what the rest of the house would look like by daylight. She noticed the female touches immediately. The candlesticks, the pictures, a magazine rack... but she also noticed that a bachelor was living here. There was dirty laundry, empty pizza boxes and empty beer bottles scattered around the place. It wasn't exactly super messy but still messy enough. She wandered around while Dean was in the kitchen preparing some sort of breakfast out of whatever was left in the fridge.

She paused when she got to the table behind the cream-coloured couch. There were some pictures of Dean by the Grand Canyon and there was one with a woman. The frame had been broken once, she noticed but the glass seemed fairly new and the picture seemed worn somehow.

'This must be her,' she whispered to herself. The strange thing was she recognized the woman.

'Dean?' she yelled to the kitchen.

'Yeah?' he replied while the kettle screamed.

'Who did you say she was again?'

'What?' Dean asked coming out of the kitchen.

'Your ex-girlfriend, who did you say she was again?'

Dean cringed at the word ex-girlfriend, he didn't know why but it just felt so wrong and it didn't do justice at all to what they had shared once. True she was not his girlfriend anymore, so yes she was an ex but the entire word just felt wrong. Ex-soul mate, maybe. Ex-limb, sure.

'I didn't say,' Dean replied dipping his head, 'her name is Lena, Lena Dylan.'

'Aaaah!' Angela screamed surprising Dean to no end.

'What?'

'Oh my God! You actually dated Lena Dylan? No way, you're fucking with me aren't you?'

'Babe, If I were fucking you, you would be on your back or on your knees right now, so no I'm not fucking with you and what the hell are you talking about!?' Dean asked.

'You said non-successful writer!'

'Yeah, she was.'

'Dean, come on have you been living under a rock? Look I've been a fan since I first read _Grand Canyon Murders_' Angela rambled

'_Grand Canyon Murders_ was her third I think.' Dean said still unsure what was going on.

'Yeah, right, but now she's like a hype or something.'

'Seriously?'

'Oh my God, yes, I heard Pixar was negotiating to buy the rights to _Roots_.'

Dean suddenly remembered how big a part he had played in _Roots_, it was the first one where he hadn't taken centre stage but had been the cause instead of the solution for the fictional events.

Suddenly Angela put two and two together as she looked at Dean's pictures on the table.

'What?' he asked.

'It's you isn't it?'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' he said coyly.

'You are Mr Wesson, the lead in no less than five books.'

'Wooow! No I certainly am not. That guy cries in at least three of them. Come on!'

'So you read them all?'

'I was dating her, kind of mandatory don't you think?' the fact that he had almost worn out the copies he had he wisely didn't say.

'So you're not Mr Wesson?' Angela said disappointed.

'No,'

'So you're not hung like a donkey then and you can not bring a woman to the verge of all eternity?' Angela smiled.

'Well, I guess some stuff was indeed based on me.' Dean admitted.

Angela smiled as if she had found all the answers.

'What?' Dean asked while he put two bowls of cornflakes and two cups of coffee on the table.

'You broke up two and half years ago right?'

Dean counted back and could hardly believe that it had been this long, especially since he secretly still hoped she was just out with friends and could walk through that door any minute now.

'Yeah,'

'That's when she wrote _Roots_, you are the one who broke her heart, causing her to flee all the way back to her home country. To see if she could find a shred of her own self again.'

'Now you're exaggerating again. I didn't break her heart,' Dean replied.

'Yeah, she still has literary freedom of course.'

'So she's doing good huh?' Dean asked his new girlfriend.

'Yeah she must be doing well, though I must say, I haven't been a fan of her last book.'

'Why is that?'

'Too many scary creatures and not a lot of love.' Angela replied putting the spoon in her mouth.

And with those last significant words Dean knew that he could never tell Angela the truth about himself and his life or even the truth about his relationship to Lena Dylan, the now, apparently, successful writer.

********************************

'Good to see you girl,' Bobby exclaimed hugging her tight. He didn't like what he felt though, there used to be more to hug.

'Hey Bobby,' Lena replied taking in the smell of what a father should smell like, he had been hanging over a stove for at least an hour, she guessed. And just in that moment she felt safe and home, almost enough to let her guard down, 'can you give me some air old man?' she added faking the chocking sounds.

Bobby led her to the family room and she saw that the table was already set, and although it was just the two of them his place was still at the head of the table.

'Please sit down,' Bobby encouraged but when Lena looked at all the food that had been prepared for tonight she felt sick to her stomach.

'Oh Bobby, this is really nice but I just got some bad news and I'm not really hungry,'

'I know it sounded like a request but it wasn't, sit down!' In a blink of an eye Bobby's mood had changed for the worse.

Lena took her seat and stared at Bobby wide-eyed; 'jeez, what crawled up your ass and died?'

'This,' Bobby yelled as he pulled out a book and planted in on the table with a noise that made one of the glasses fall over.

'And this,' he continued slapping another book on the table.

'Oh and this,'

'Nice to see your eyes haven't deserted you old man,' Lena said.

'I ain't joking girly! This ain't no joke!'

'What the hell Bobby, cut the crap and just tell me what you need to say so I can get out of here!' Lena had just about enough of Bobby's intimidating behaviour. She had quit the family and would like to be left alone for once. Bobby had no say in her live anymore and it's about time he realized it.

'You! Are! Hunting!?' Bobby was now absolutely steaming.

'What gave you that idea?'

'Don't Lena! Just don't! For once don't spew a lie and tell me the truth.'

Lena had to pause, she had stood up during Bobby's ranting and was now leaning hard on the back of her seat.

'What do you want me to say Bobby?' she finally dared to utter.

'I want you to tell me I'm wrong, that you're not risking your life and going of on your own without training or knowledge. Tell me that you're not fighting the supernatural to prove something to Dean,'

Lena stayed silent for a minute and then uttered; 'I'm not trying to prove anything,'

'You stupid, stupid girl! What the hell is wrong with you? You know what, I blame myself, I should've seen it before,' Bobby took the first book again and read the intro on the back, 'that vampire-clan down in Texas was you, wasn't it?'

Lena didn't answer but she pouted her lips and looked the other way.

'That zombie issue we had down in Nevada?'

Again Lena didn't answer.

'Don't tell me you were involved in that skinwalker thing in Mississippi where one hunter died!?'

'No actually I wasn't,' Lena said relieved.

'Sit down,' Bobby said calmly now, sighing while he took a seat himself.

Lena did as she was told and felt like she was awaiting a sentence from a judge.

'Why?' Bobby asked rubbing his forehead.

'I don't know it just kind of happened, did you know there was a vamp-clan in Italy?'

'Yeah, as a matter of fact I did.'

'Well I took this tourist tour and what do you know, vampires. It was kill or be killed. And you know what?'

Bobby looked up as he heard the change of tone in her voice.

'I fucking loved it! All of a sudden that daze I was living in cleared up and I took control! I had become this weak, whining little bitch, crying over a lost love, I was practically begging to die but when I was actually confronted by those fangs I suddenly found my strength back. Do you have any idea how good that felt? Knowing that you want to live, and that you fight for it?' Lena was now really looking into Bobby's eyes, for some reason she wanted him to understand and for some reason he actually did. She saw the comprehension in his eyes, anger made way for kinship.

'Is there anything I can say to make you stop? Don't you see how dangerous this is? You're on your own.' He said softly.

'Sorry Bobby, look I'll tell you a little secret. I'm never on my own.'

'What d'ya mean?'

'There are hunters everywhere, I find a hunt, call in the closest hunter, whine, beg and drop your name before they actually believe me and then we're off. Just Italy, that one I did on my own.'

'I still don't like it,'

'Look Bobby, I'm stronger than I lead on and I'm a lot smarter too. Yes, I'll admit I don't have the background and teachings like other hunters, yes I rolled into it on my own but please understand, we're fighting for the same thing here. Aren't we?'

'Yeah, I guess we are,'

Bobby stayed silent for a minute and as he mulled things over he scooped up two plates of all the things that had been getting cold. The both of them ate in a somewhat uncomfortable silence and watched the flames of the candlesticks play. Lena didn't know what was going on in Bobby's head right now but the fact her hair wasn't full of mashed potatoes was a good sign. Bobby on the other hand did not like the situation at all. He had read the books and liked the stories but he should have put two and two together much, much sooner. He couldn't believe what he had heard just now. He honestly had some sort of hope that Lena would explain that it was all fiction and shit she had made up, but he knew, from the beginning, the details were too correct to ever be just fiction. He could hit his head with a frying pan right about now.

'Bobby,'

'Hmm,' the old man grunted.

'Don't tell him,'

Bobby looked up from his plate and didn't understand until she looked him straight in the eyes and added: 'please?'


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, I tried my best to finish this over the weekend but a family BBQ and the beautiful weather spoiled my plans ;-)**

**I hope those three or four people who are actually reading still enjoy it and bear with me to the end, I have a special request.**

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Chapter 3: Visit the Sick

Bobby wandered around his house aimlessly, he didn't know why but he felt something was going down. Something bad was going to happen. He checked the newspapers again. If there was something supernatural going on he should be able to pick it up, he had been trained to see the signs for ages now.

'What is it?' he said when he felt a cold wind rushing in.

'I just came to tell you, you are right,'

'Right about what?' Bobby asked not looking up from the newspaper in front of him.

'Your bad feeling,'

'What? You're listening in on my thoughts all of a sudden? That's a serious breach of privacy!' He told the beautiful angel in front of me.

'You are not a fan of us now are you?' Castiel responded not really caring about privacy and listening in, he found it too damn interesting. Ever since he spent all that time with the Winchesters he had become a real humanist and was interested in everything they did and thought off.

'You think it's our fault your wife got possessed?' Castiel asked.

'Don't you talk about her,' Bobby warned raising his hand as if he wanted to choke the angel.

'Oh, no you didn't think it was our fault she got possessed, you think it's our fault she didn't survive!'

'Shut your yap! NOW!'

'Robert Singer, do not threaten me! Do not mistake my kindness for weakness!' Castiel said making his shadow rise behind him and his wings were flapping unnoticeable to the eye but very noticeably to the ear. Bobby could not do anything but try to relax and not get wiped off the planet today.

'What do you want then?' He asked through gritted teeth.

'I do not know exactly, something is off and I know you feel it. I came here to tell you that you got to stop it, I can not foresee the future and when that happens it usually means bad things will happen,'

'Apocalyptic bad?'

'Probably,'

'Seriously... again?' Bobby wondered so sick of the apocalypse.

'Look Robert, I know we don't always see eye to eye but I advise you to get your army together and start searching because you do not want the earth to end today.'

Bobby lifted his shoulders in defeat, he didn't really care anymore, he had had a good life, he had lost the love of his life yes but he had known much joy as well.

'Robert! Don't be selfish here, your children are still out there, there's even a baby on the way.'

'Quit reading my thoughts, or so god help me I will let you kill me today. Besides you should know the difference between a passing thought and one that sticks! What kind of angel are you anyway.'

'A damn good one, let's move on. My orders are to supervise and that's what I'll do. You wont see me unless it's necessary.'

'But,' Bobby started to say, having absolutely no idea what had just happened but before he was able to utter the word completely Castiel had disappeared as quickly as he had come.

Bobby sighed not having a clue where to start. Besides he felt funny, he had this uncontrollable need to go out in the world and do some charities. He decided to get his 'army', as Cas put it, together and then tomorrow he would register with the local church and ask if they needed help with something.

Bobby scoured the papers and found two maybe three questionable articles.

***********************************

'Hey Bobby, what's up?' Lena said. She knew what he was going to say though, he had called every day since they had seen each other a week and a half ago.

'Stop hunting Lena,' Lena smiled at the predictability.

'No thanks,' she replied calmly, 'may I help you in some other way?'

'Yeah, there's something else,' Bobby lingered, which alarmed Lena immediately.

'Did something happen? Please Bobby tell me they're okay, please,'

'Yeah, sorry kid, didn't mean to frighten you. Everyone's fine,'

'Julie, the baby?' Lena interrupted.

'Yeah, yeah, they're all in perfect health as far as I know.'

'Than what is it Bobby, come on spit it out!'

'Something's happening but I don't know what, I need you to do some research, and I'll come to you in a day or so and help out.'

'You want me on a hunt?' Lena asked incredulously.

'Yeah I guess I do, look there's no one else I trust enough to do this. I need your word you're not gonna blab to anyone else about this, it's just you and me girly,'

'Yeah sure Bobby, anything for you, you know that.' She said a bit humbled.

'Thanks kid, I need you to go to Yellow Stone, Wyoming,'

'Hmm, Yellow Stone, got it, so what am I looking for?'

'Look I don't know yet, there was just this article in the paper about an adoption going wrong and something felt off,'

'Yeah I know what you're talking about, the papers were so vague that something really terrible must have happened.'

'Exactly, I need you to do the legwork and I'll come over as soon as I can.'

'Yeah sure, I'm in Idaho anyway for a meeting but that shouldn't take long and I'll be there in no time.'

'Thanks, remember you can quit at any time,' Bobby added honestly grateful.

'Thanks but no. Say, you didn't call the Winchesters now did you?' Lena suddenly realized this could all be a trap for her to get her ass kicked by Dean, and being part of a really messed up, twisted dating–show Bobby was orchestrating.

'Nah! I wouldn't dare,' he said with enough conviction that Lena let it go, she was just going to have to be extra careful.

'Fine I'll see you in a few days,' Lena said ending the conversation, tossing her phone on the passenger seat and tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the music, she wanted to turn 180° right now but the meeting came first at this point.

**********************

'Hey Bobby, what's up?' Dean asked cheerful as he was enjoying some time with his girl in the yard. He was chopping some wood when Angela came running outside with some iced tea and his phone, before he had answered he had wiped his forehead with the shirt he had taken off and he had kissed his girl on the forehead.

'Hey Dean, I don't know how to explain this but something's happening.'

'Something what?'

'See if I would know what, I would have told you know wouldn't I?'

'Sorry Bobby,'

'Good, now get your brother's and your own ass to La Crosse, Wisconsin,'

'Seriously? Wisconsin?'

'Dean, this is not the time!' Bobby yelled impatiently.

'All right, all right, you know Bobby one of these days you're gonna get yourself a heart attack you know that,'

'Yeah, I've known for a long time you'd be the death of me!'

'So Wisconsin? You're not talking about that incident that was in the paper this morning are you?'

'Actually I am,'

'Come on Bobby, these things happen en will keep on happening as long as our government doesn't allow euthanasia,'

'So you actually want people randomly taking that decision in their own hands then?'

'No, that's not what I'm saying, I'm just telling you that there's nothing there, this ain't our kind of job,'

'Yeah well humour me, I don't know what it is but I got a funny feeling,'

'I know a great Asian massage-place for funny feelings Bobby,'

'Not that kind of feeling boy,'

'Then see a shrink,'

'Dean!'

'Yeah?'

'Are you gonna help me or not!?'

Dean knew this wasn't a question except if it were a rhetorical one.

'Yeah sure, but I'm leaving Sam out of this, with the pregnancy and all I don't like to drag him away from her.'

'She's pregnant, not handicapped, take Sam or I swear to God...'

'Okay, okay, calm down,' Dean interrupted, 'djeez, what crawled up your ass and died,'

Bobby had to smirk when he heard the expression again, so soon after the first time he had heard it.

'What are you laughing about,' Dean asked confused.

'Well, you made the biggest mistake of your life! I expect you and Sam in Wisconsin in a couple of days,'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' Dean uttered but the line had already gone death.

'What was that all about?' Angela asked as she had taken over from Dean with the wood chopping and had gotten pretty sweaty herself.

'Work-related.'

'But I thought you called that man Bobby?'

'Yeah,'

'I thought he was kind of your dad,'

'Well, yeah he kind of has been since... you know, but he's my employer too,' Dean lied.

'What has euthanasia to do with a salvage yard?' Angela asked without thinking, now Dean would know she eavesdropping a bit.

'Inside joke about people killing their own cars, more detail would make your head spin hun,' Dean fibbed as he grinned his signature smile making sure Angela would drop the subject.

'Ah okay,' Angela replied knowingly that there were things Dean just didn't tell her, she minded, but not enough to get her relationship in trouble.

'I'm going to go away for a while,'

Angela looked at the grass beneath her feet as if she had just been dumped. She had felt this moment coming ever since that dinner. Dean had never said what had ticked him off and she hadn't asked. She hadn't seen his family again since and she thought she might never again, but for some reason Dean had found it great that she had been spending more time in his place, instead of always going to her shabby flat.

'Okay,' she finally managed to utter.

'Just for a couple of days though, so I'll give you a key so that you can finish up here,' Dean said pointing at the wood with a little smile. Angela looked surprised but tried to hide it from him as she felt absolutely ridiculous thinking he was dumping her, everything was going so great, why in hell would they separate, if anything the last couple of days they had only grown more towards each other. Dean had opened up a little and had even told Angela about the sudden stroke of his father. He had told about how Bobby, the family friend, became much more than just that, he had even told her about the house fire that had killed his mother. She knew it was stupid but for some reason she felt honoured to have seen a glimpse of Dean's other side, the side that didn't crack stupid jokes, the side that didn't have a permanent glowing smile on his face. At one point she even thought Dean was going to cry a little but then she figured that a guy like Dean would never ever cry in front of a woman. No not Dean, he would rather die than show a sad emotion in front of a woman.

'Sure, you're obviously not strong enough to chop all this wood,' she said teasingly.

'Drop the axe woman,' he commanded.

Angela threw the axe a feet away from her and stood there blinking against the sun she could see a giant, sweaty, muscled shadow approach. Not approach but rather prowl as if she was the prey of a hungry Leopard in the dusty Sahara. She playfully ran behind a tree but the leopard found her and covered by the shadow of the oak they fell to the ground and the leopard ate until it was satisfied.

*******************************

'Dean!' Julie said jumping in his arms, though this had become a challenge for Dean as he was now carrying a bit more than the average female that jumped into his arms.

'Where have you been?' she said hitting him on the chest as he had put her back onto her feet.

'Just home, haven't been anywhere,' he answered like nothing had happened.

Julie wanted to ask why he hadn't picked up his phone then but she didn't feel the need to do that.

'So Sam here?'

'Actually he just went to the store but he should be back in an hour or so.'

Julie looked passed Dean and saw the Impala, she squinted and zoomed in on the backseat.

'You've got a job right?' Julie said sighing but not protesting, Dean just nodded in agreement.

'Come in, please,' Julie pressed and he did as he was told.

They both took their seats on the couch. Dean looked around and remembered when he stayed here almost six months before returning back to his own home. He had courteously enough not come back here to crash since the wedding had taken place. Without any incentive of Sam Dean had returned to his own home. There he walked in on Lena and as she had left a new whiff of perfume in his living room, he had been able to sleep soundly on the couch that night.

He smiled at Julie, he realized he had been too strict on them. She didn't had it easy either, her best friend had practically disappeared on her and now she had to deal with a new woman. She had done so much for him back then, he felt like a complete ass and bowed his head, shaking it.

'What is it Dean?' Julie asked concerned.

'Nothing,' he replied, 'it's just... I'm a complete ass! I'm sorry Julz, I shouldn't have gone off like that. It's just, this woman is pretty important to me and she's pretty amazing.'

Julie was absolutely stunned, she didn't remember Dean apologizing for anything, ever.

'That's okay Dean, I'm sorry too. You know what I'll spend some time with her while you two are gone, maybe she is indeed a fabulous girl. Besides she surely must be if she can capture and hold your attention,' Julie said as she stretched her hand to Dean's cheek, he involuntary leaned in and closed his eyes. Julie was pretty stunned by the reaction such a tiny gesture invoked, she didn't exactly know though that Lena used to do this whenever Dean was going down under the weight of the world that always seemed to lie on his shoulders, they didn't talk it through but that tiny gesture just said to him that she was there for him, always.

Dean jerked back as he suddenly realized that it wasn't Lena's hand but his sister-in-law's. Julie rapidly tucked her hand back in her lap and looked into Dean's eyes.

'Such kind eyes, you are destined for greatness, Dean Winchester,'

Dean frowned as he had no idea what had just come over Julie and she acted the same.

'I'm sorry,' she blushed, 'I have no idea where that just came from, it's true though,' she added looking deeper.

'Thanks, I guess,'

The uncomfortable silence was broken by an ugly Volvo pulling up the driveway.

'Dean?!' Sam yelled as he opened the door.

'Right here Sammy,' Dean yelled back, still glaring at Julie who had now adapted to the colour of a strawberry.

Sam couldn't help but smile as he saw the familiar picture, he cussed himself for missing his brother around the house. He should've enjoyed it while it lasted. They hadn't been on the road for a while and although he had absolutely no intention to leave the house, he did miss spending time with him, just having beers and joking around.

'Hey man,' he said hugging him and Dean hugged him back feeling absolutely awful that in a second he was going to tear his brother away from his beautiful, though peculiar, wife.

'I got a call from Bobby this morning,' Dean commenced.

'Yeah, and? Did he slip in the shower again?' Sam replied jokingly letting his brother out of his embrace.

'No, not exactly, Sammy I'm sorry,' and with only those last words Sam knew exactly what was expected of him.

'No Dean, you can't do this,' Sam said.

'I really am sorry but Bobby insisted on you coming with,'

'It's okay Sam,' Julie tried to reassure him, 'I'll come with you,'

Both boys looked at each other and then at Julie before they cracked up in laughter.

'Yeah that's so not going to happen!' Sam laughed.

'Fine, then you go, end of discussion,' Julie said a bit pissed off for being laughed at, although she hadn't exactly expected Sam to agree, with her pregnant and all.

'Are you sure,' Sam said taking Julie's hands into his and resting his forehead on hers.

'Look if Bobby insisted there must be a reason, you should go, we have had this conversation a zillion times,' Julie said looking into his eyes.

'Yeah but you weren't carrying my little girl then,' Sam sighed. He was so not ready to leave his girls at this stage.

'True, but we'll be here when you get back,' she said and to end the conversation she kissed him. Sam raised his hands to her face and embraced her like it would be their last.

Dean was staring at the scene and was starting to feel uncomfortable, so he cleared his throat but Sam didn't stop, neither did Julie as they forgot that Dean was there, as they forgot there was a whole world out there, it was just the three of them Sam, Julie and their little baby girl.

*****************************

When Dean had finally been able to get Sam out of the house with some clean clothes and a bar of soap they had taken the impala and headed off.

'So where are we going?'

'Wisconsin,' Dean sighed.

'Seriously? But there haven't been any strange things there,'

'Let's be honest, we haven't been on our toes for what, six-seven months, we have turned blind eyes to suspicious articles and we have been enjoying a supernatural-free life,' Dean said making Sam a bit uncomfortable because he knows that it was mostly his doing for their lack of jobs these past months. He felt guilt remembering the night Dean got hurt because he just didn't want to leave his house. He felt a bit better when Dean told him he had encountered a slutty nurse though, who now had become the apple of Dean's eye.

'So if Bobby says something is up, something's up.' Dean finished, he lied though, he didn't think there was anything wrong either but hell he could give a motivational speech if he had to.

'Yeah, you're right. Bobby still knows his stuff,' Sam replied, 'so did he say anything about what we're up against?'

'No not really, but he did mention that article in the paper,'

'What article?'

'Under which rock have you been living for the past six months,'

Sam didn't answer as he was ashamed that he had completely let his guard down, he skipped the news, he skipped the papers, he avoided anything that was bad or evil.

'Here,' Dean added throwing Sam yesterday's papers.

'So?'

Dean sighed as he was now about to defend something he didn't believe in himself.

'The article about the nurse,' Dean said.

'What? These things happen all the time. A nurse takes matters into her own hands and gives her patient a lethal dose of morphine? Look the patient was probably dying and asked for it and now the poor nurse needs to pay. This is not our kind of thing Dean.' Sam said smacking down the paper on his lap and turning his head towards his brother.

'Look I didn't think so either but Bobby says there's something and when you read closely the details are, in fact, pretty vague.'

'Fine, you're right, we trust Bobby, we should go with his gut feeling.'

'Funny you mention that,'

'Mention what?'

'His gut feeling, Bobby was telling how he got a quote-unquote funny feeling,'

'So you two talking feelings now huh?'

'I don't know what he was talking about, he couldn't explain. I told him to see a shrink,'

'No you told him to go to that Thai place first,'

'He called you too?' Dean wondered.

Sam had to laugh even if they didn't spend all hours of the day together in a car or in a hotel room they still knew each other inside out.

*******************************

'So where do we start?' Dean asked pulling up at the first motel they passed in La Crosse.

'The morgue, I guess,' Sam wasn't too sure though he felt a bit funny, 'you know what, after the morgue we should go to the holding cell.'

'Why?' Dean asked.

'Because we ought to talk to that nurse and maybe we can do something for her you know, do something good.'

'You want to pull some strings and get her out of there.'

'Yeah actually I do,'

'Good plan,' Dean agreed.

'Hi, this is Major Scholz and I'm Lieutenant Neal, we're here to see the body of Buck Boulanger,' Dean said with his hands behind his back and his legs spread.

'S-s-sure,' the dorky teen uttered, 'why is the military police interested in Buck?'

'I don't think that concerns you son, but Buck has served our country so a suspicious death needs to be investigated.'

'But,' the teenager who tried to gain experience in anatomy by working at the morgue, commenced to protest but Dean shut him up by just one gesture of his hand.

'Thank you son, that'll be all,'

Without further ado the teenager left the two scary men and the corpse of Buck Boulanger alone.

'Hmm, I guess a gentle overdose of morphine is out of the picture,' Dean commented while Sam bent down to the body to take a closer look.

'Yeah you can say that again, hand me the autopsy report will you,' Sam asked.

Dean did as he was asked and let Sam do his thing while he couldn't get over how awesome their new get-ups were. He felt comfortable in the army-suit, he felt part of something bigger.

'Well?' Dean wondered after a long silence watching Sam go 'umph' and 'huh'.

'Well, the report is wrong, it says here that Buck's throat was slit first, causing an immediate death. But that's not correct, the throat was slit after all the other damage was done. These other wounds are not post-mortem.'

'Are you sure?' Dean asked while he took a look himself.

'Yeah definitely. Nearly all the vital organs were hit with what seems to be a scalpel,' Sam turned around the report, 'the report agrees with me on one thing.'

'So the nurse brutally killed a patient who was in palliative care?'

'Looks like it,'

'And someone is trying to cover her ass,'

'Just like we were about to do,'

'Hmm, so you thinking conspiracy, a little small town killings? ' Dean asked.

'Yeah maybe, but Dean, this still doesn't mean this is our kind of job,'

'Yeah I know, you're right, let's go talk to our little Elle Driver,'

Sam looked at Dean confused.

'Seriously, what rock?' he exclaimed while he whistled his way out of the morgue.

***************************

'That her?' Dean asked the deputy while he was looking through the mirror-glass into the interrogation room.

'Yep,'

'But she looks so innocent, how could a petit brunette do all that damage.'

'We get all sorts of wacko's over the floor here,'

Dean looked around the small police station that had to rule the town of La Crosse.

'I bet you do,' he replied sarcastically, 'let's go talk to little Mrs Driver.'

'Her name is Matthysen,' the sheriff corrected.

'Doesn't anyone watch movies anymore?' Dean sighed as if the allusion was all to clear.

'So why did you kill Buck?' Dean asked sincerely annoying Sam with his lack of subtlety.

'Because he asked me,' she replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world, 'just like that girl.'

'What girl?' Sam intervened.

'Gracie, she asked for it too,'

'Why would a little girl ask you to kill her?'

'Because of her leukaemia,'

Dean's eyes widened as he realized Buck was not the only victim of this killer nurse. He turned his head towards Sam and mouthed 'What?' Sam lifted his shoulders in incomprehension.

'You carved her up too?' Dean asked.

'No, I put something in her IV,'

'No one found out?'

'No, everyone was just happy she was no longer in pain, there was nothing more we could do for her,' she said as if she had done the girl a favour, and probably in many ways she actually had.

'Are there any more Kelly?' Sam dared.

'Maybe three or four,'

'When did you begin taking matters into your own hand?' he asked, Sam was completely dumbfounded and honestly wanted to know what had driven this nurse.

'I don't know three or four weeks ago. I see all these people dying slowly and painfully, I decided that it was enough. These people deserved some dignity.'

'Dignity?!' Dean yelled as he got up from the chair and started walking behind Kelly's back, 'How's craving up an old man dignified?!' He said bending down to her ear.

'He was always talking about the war and how he had wanted to die a hero instead of being incontinent and looked after by strangers. I figured this ought to do it.'

Dean suddenly saw the mark on the back of her head, it wasn't exactly a brand but more like a mosquito had bitten her and it had gotten infected.

Dean gestured with his head giving Sam the cue.

'Here you must be thirsty,' Sam said pushing forward a plastic white cup of water.

She drank the whole thing without smoke evaporating everywhere.

'Did you see anything strange, like black smoke or people with odd eye-colours?'

'No, why?' she replied simply.

'Okay, I think we're done here,' Dean exclaimed walking out.

The sheriff was waiting on them as they closed the door.

'Total nutjob, not our kind of case,' Dean said handing back the file to the sheriff, 'good luck.' Dean smacked the sheriff on the back and left him speechless.

'This is so our kind of case,' Dean then said to Sam as they crossed the parking lot.

'Yeah, I got that. Hospital?' He asked.

'You're reading my mind,'

'Huh?'

'What?' Dean asked.

'You notice how we haven't had one fight or argument since we got here?'

'We never fight,'

Sam looked at his brother like he was saying Paris Hilton was the prettiest girl on earth.

'Yeah okay we fight, but not that often. We're tuned into each other Sammy,' he smirked.

'We just fought all the way here?!' Sam added.

'Yeah and we got over it, you wanna start up again?'

'Never mind,'

'Good, now shut it,'

**********************************

'Hi we're journalists for the Wisconsin Gazet and we're trying to write an article about what happened here a few days ago,' Dean said as he pinned down the first nurse he came across.

'I hope you going to set that other piece of shit straight,'

'What do you mean?'

'It's outrageous what they've done to her!'

'Yeah it is,' Dean replied, 'no, what... wait... her?'

'Yeah Kelly! She should get an award for what she's been doing, we're all doing it and it isn't easy!'

'What do you mean?'

'Taking people's lives isn't easy but they ask for it, we're giving them their last care, why can't we give them their last wish too.' She spoke honestly.

'Okay, thank you for your time,'

Dean went to the cafeteria and ordered some pie, though he kept eyeing everyone suspiciously as he had no idea what had and is going down here. He was relieved when he saw Sam strolling in.

'Dude this isn't normal, I talked to some nurses and apparently they've all been taking lives.'

'It goes much further than that,' Sam explained showing him the records he copied from the hospital's databank.

'What do you mean, how can it go further than that?'

Sam slapped file one on the table.

'George 8 year old, was in for routine surgery, getting his tonsils removed, death. Deirdre 35 years old, came in for a nose-job, somehow her leg got infected and she died. Jared 27, broke his nose playing hockey,'

'Let me guess, death?' Dean interrupted.

'Yeah apparently those nurses and one doctor just didn't even make it into the papers. Taking lives of people who are already at the end is one thing, but this is just plain murder.'

'And no one reacts?'

'Apparently they all think they're doing God's work.'

'You think it's bound to the hospital?'

'Not likely, the morgue reports that people are brought in already dead for stupid reasons.'

'So what, everyone who's sick or dying just gets ganked?'

'Yeah that sounds about right,'

Dean sneezed right before he gulped down his last piece of pie, ten faces turned towards him.

'I think we have to get out of here,' Sam said grabbing the files of the table and his own sandwich.

'Yeah I think you're right,' Dean said as he took Sam's laptop and rushed out behind him.

***************************

'Bobby?' Dean said through the phone in the impala.

'Yeah you were right, we've been here two days and something's definitely going on here, we don't know what though but I really feel like Sam and I shouldn't stay here,'

'Where are you? Yellow stone? You hunting alone?'

'Yeah fine, okay Bobby. Talk to you later, bye,'

'What's up?' Sam asked taking another bite of his sandwich.

'Bobby's in Yellow Stone, Wyoming, hunting,'

'What's he hunting?'

'He doesn't know yet,'

'He said these things were related?

'No not exactly,'

'But you think they are?' Sam asked.

'Might be, I dunno! Besides we're miles and miles away from Wyoming.'

Dean said as he put the keys into the ignition.

'Where are we going?'

'St-Louis, Missouri.'

'Why?'

'I have no idea, Bobby's orders.'

'Who was with Bobby anyway,' Sam asked.

'Don't know, a female hunter he picked up somewhere,' Dean said smiling towards Sam entertaining the thought of Bobby finding a sweet woman to spend the rest of his life with.

* * *

**So if you have enjoyed what I have been writing hitherto, leave me a review with your name, or a name you like, and maybe you'll find it here somewhere soon... **

**To the real Kelly Matthysen, sorry I didn't ask first, I hope you didn't mind. ;-)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter where the hunt is slowly unfolding itself.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Feed the Hungry

'Hi, I'm Lena, I have an appointment with Mr Krip?' Lena said asking the receptionist.

'Lena who?' the receptionist asked not even looking up from her computer screen.

'Dylan, Lena Dylan,' she completed.

'Can you spell that please?'

Lena had enough right about now and she bit back: 'you know your job ain't that difficult.' She said taking the agenda lying in front of the receptionist and spinning it so it faced her way, 'see...' she pointed, 'here I am Dylan, Lena appointment at three o'clock and what do you know, it's three o'clock.'

The receptionist was a bit pissy right now and pulled the agenda back towards her indicating a chair nearby and Lena went to sit down. She wasn't all too sure of herself this time. When she walked into Astrid's office she was confident, everybody knew and liked her, they greeted her and she was immediately put through when she called but here in this unfamiliar place people eyed her suspiciously. Wasn't she dressed well? Were jeans not enough to meet Mr Krip? Was her leather jacket too raucous? She didn't know but she did see the personnel this man liked to keep around, high-heeled, long-haired women of all ages and the occasional dorky male.

'He must be compensating for something,' Lena smirked inwards.

'Lena Dylan,' the receptionist called in her katty voice, 'Mr Krip will see you know,' she said not even getting up to get the right door, mistakenly Lena opened the wrong one.

'That's the bathroom,' the receptionist now smiled adding the 'bitch' in her mind.

Lena didn't care, people like that just didn't deserve her time nor her anger. She opened the other door and was welcomed in a completely different world.

'Hi, you must be Lena,' the man said approaching quickly with his arm and hand stretched out, somehow Lena was comforted by the fact this man wasn't the cuddling type like Astrid had been, 'I'm Erik,'

'It's nice to meet you Erik, I've heard a lot about you,' Lena said shaking the man's hand. She noticed her jeans wasn't too rowdy for this office, he had on just a plaid shirt and a pair of dark denims himself. She liked the casualty of his ensemble.

'That's a lie,' he proclaimed and Lena smiled in agreement.

'So do you know us? Are you familiar with Scary ?'

'I can't say I am,'

'Well we print primarily thrillers, horror and sci-fi so overall scary stories, hence the name,' he joked.

'Yeah I got that,' she replied a bit amused.

'I've been following your work.'

'From the beginning?'

'You want an honest response?' he asked.

'Never mind.'

'Okay so I really like what you have been doing since _Roots_, we think you would really fit into our little family here.

'Family?' Lena wondered, 'I'll never see myself related to that bitch in front. Crap there I go again wasting energy on negative thinking.' She thought.

'As I understand it Astrid has rejected your latest manuscript, correct?'

'Yeah she did,'

'She hasn't sent me a copy yet so I'll be honest I haven't read it but I needed to meet you before all the sharks out there jump on you like the white tasty meat you are. I just couldn't let you slip away.'

'Thank you, I guess,' Lena said, confused whether to be insulted or complimented, 'and I have a copy here with me,'

'Oh great, but I can almost certainly say that we'll print it no matter what Astrid thinks is wrong with it,'

'That's a lot of confidence don't you think?' Lena asked.

'Yes,' he said and then seemed to doubt if he should go one, 'you are the non-bullshitting kind, correct?'

Lena nodded.

'Well hunny, you're a money-train, something I predicted the moment I read the first chapter of _Roots_ unfortunately you were not mine to claim and I have seen you lift off, now I'd like to be a part of it.'

'You do know that I'm not property right, no one owns me,' she replied dryly.

'Yeah sorry, didn't mean it like that,'

'So basically you see me as a walking, talking dollar sign?'

'Yep, and we'll do everything to make you worth even more than you are now,'

Lena pondered for a while, she eyed the man and was pleasantly surprised by his honesty.

'Okay, fine, count me in,' she said standing up.

'Great, we ask 20% and that's non-negotiable,'

'That's fine, I write on my own time and I don't do deadlines, that's non-negotiable,' she countered.

'I think we'll get along just fine, I'll have our lawyers draw up the contract and send it to yours, in the mean time you have my word and I hope I have yours, on an exclusive contract,' Erik said stretching his hand again.

'You have mine,' she replied reciprocating the handshake.

'So,' he added letting go of her hand, 'you want to have dinner tonight?'

'Sorry I can't, I have to be somewhere,'

'Boyfriend, husband, kids?'

'Not exactly but I still have to be somewhere,'

'Wait, how biographical was _Roots_ anyway?' He suddenly asked still interested in dating this woman.

'Biographical enough,' she said as she left the office and walked away with her head held high in front Kathy, the receptionist.

**********************************

'Hey Bobby, I'm here, just arrived I'll call you back when I find something,' she said leaving a message on Bobby's voicemail.

She placed her arms on top of the Mustang and laid her chin on one of them. She enjoyed the late afternoon sun for a sec and smiled as she remembered her meeting earlier. Dating? She shook her head, nope that's a not a formula that works for her.

The sun caught her face and she felt the warmth leaving after a sunny day. She wondered how Dean was doing, for the first time in two years she let her mind wander to a place she thought she had locked forever. Thinking of him consciously she expected tears to well up but instead she was surprised that she had to smile. So it was true, pain does fade and the good memories are left behind. She remembered the hunt they went on together, the sun was coming in low back then too and she remembered Dean eyeing her in his own rear-view mirror. She felt so precious and special that his eyes wanted her, and only her. She smiled at the memory. She truly did look back on that time of her life as being one of her happiest. Never in her life had she let people come so close to her as Dean had gotten. Although she had been reserved, he had clawed his way in and stayed there for so long, so when he disappeared from her existence a big gaping hole had been left behind, now she felt the hole that had been gnawing was now closing, she sighed a bit in relief.

With a smile she looked at the city of Jackson, the closest town to the national park, this was going to become her hunting territory and she better learn it. She saw two butt-ugly churches and everything else a small town could handle, one hooters, three bars named Earl's, Vinny's and Bella's, a grocery store and a bakery, all around the small town-square. She shook her head in distaste, she couldn't believe people could actually live in a small town, she couldn't believe she once resided in a similar suburban hellhole.

She couldn't find a motel or something alike but she did find a charming little bed and breakfast, screaming little house on the prairie, but the only thing Lena saw was a sign saying vacancies. So she entered and found herself a nice old woman behind the counter.

'Hello dear, how may I help you?'

'I'm looking for a place to stay, for a couple of days,'

'Are you by yourself?' the woman asked glaring behind Lena if there was, perhaps, a young fellow approaching.

'Yes but I'm expecting someone arriving tomorrow, if that's alright?'

'But of course sugar, so one king size?'

'No, actually I was wondering if you had two adjoining rooms.'

'Oh no, don't be shy, you might be in Jackson but we ain't narrow-minded, we know what couples do these days,'

Lena finally got what the woman was hinting at and shivers went rolling down her spine as she thought about her companion.

'Actually, I'm expecting my father,' she replied sternly.

'Oh I'm sorry dear, good you're spending some time with your dad, he must be a happy old chap,'

'Oh yeah, he's certainly the happiest of the bunch, a real party-animal,' Lena replied sarcastically but the woman didn't notice her tone.

'So let's see we have room five and six and they are adjoined through the bathroom,'

'That's perfect,'

'How'd you like to pay?'

'Actually,' Lena said as she was conjuring up a plan to test a certain someone's loyalty, 'can you send the bill to my employers? Scary in Idaho.' She proclaimed.

'Sure that shouldn't be a problem, so what do you do there, dear?'

'I'm an author actually,' she said surprised how good that felt. She had always said, she was a not so successful writer but now she could actually call herself an author, no connotations, no pejorative meanings, just that an author.

'Oh really? So I guess you write scary novels?' The woman asked while Lena was filling out the forms and the billing address.

'You could say that, yes,'

'Anything I might have heard of?'

'I don't know, I think probably not, I'm not that nationally known,'

Lena handed her the form back and the woman immediately scanned the page for the name.

'Lena Dylan?' she asked.

'Yes?'

'I do know you, you do write scary stories, I used to be a fan,'

'Used to?' Lena asked as if she had died.

'Yeah, oh that Mr Wesson surely was a dream guy, but now too much angst not enough happy stuff,' she explained.

Lena shrugged in defeat with just that one gesture she bereaved that woman of all hope that one day there would be another story with Mr Wesson, doing an Indian Jones-move in the supernatural world.

'I don't get why you young people like that scary stuff so much, no. You can give me Heathcliff, Mr Darcy and Mr Wesson any day of the year,' she said moving in front of the counter, signalling Lena to follow her upstairs.

'But they're fictional, it's not real, neither is true love by the way,'

'Oh child, neither are vampires, werewolves and skin-scrapers,'

'Skin-walkers,' Lena corrected thinking they are so real but she didn't want to bust this woman's bubble. She had liked her own bubble, she wished sometimes she could crawl back in it.

'Whatever. Besides you can't be that cynical at your age,'

'Not cynical, realistic,' she corrected again.

'Fine call it what you want,' she said, agreeing to disagree. She felt actually sorry for the young girl. She herself had outlived two husbands one dying in 'Nam and the other after being sick a long time. And she still believed there was love out there, you just had to take the pain with it. How can you appreciate a good thing if you don't know what a bad thing is?

'Here you are, room 6 and I'll open your father's tomorrow, breakfast is at 10 sharp and if you want to have dinner you have to tell me in advance. My name is Bessie and it's very nice to meet you,' she said handing Lena the key.

'Thanks it was very nice meeting you too,' Lena said and as she shook Bessie's hand she did something Lena wasn't expecting, she placed her left hand on top of Lena's, giving Lena an unreal sensation of homecoming, it was so overwhelming it actually made her head spin and she actually needed to put a foot back not to loose her balance, Bessie let go of her hand and without another word she went back downstairs, leaving Lena confused, disoriented and maybe not even feeling safe anymore.

Lena let herself fall on the bed which of course had a selfmade quilt. She waited until the spinning stopped. She wanted to know what just happened. When did she eat last? Must be well 20 hours ago, she decided that it would be best to go out and grab something.

****************************

The first joint she found was an ugly old barn that probably primarily served meat. She dragged one more time on her cigarette and decided to give the place a go.

'Hi, can I help you?' The perky girl in front asked.

'Sure, I'd liked to eat please,'

'Are you by yourself?'

Lena sighed as to why everyone was suddenly so interested in her love-life; 'yes, yes I am,' she replied, 'can you seat me at the bar or something?'

'Yeah sure, come on,' she said taking Lena to the bar.

'What the fuck!' was one of Lena's first thoughts when she saw her seat, 'a freaking saddle-topped bar stool? Djeez, where am I?'

'Hi, what can I get you?' The friendly bartender asked.

'Martini, white, on the rocks and a menu please,'

'Sure thing beautiful,'

The menu and her drink were there quite quick, she tossed back the martini and signalled the bartender to fetch her another one while she looked over the menu.

Just as she expected nearly every dish had some kind of meat in it but that wasn't the worst of it, suddenly five older men climbed up on stage and then they actually started to perform old fashioned country music, while people started to fill the dance floor, luckily they avoided the dreadful line-dancing but they did start swinging.

Lena finally ordered the least meaty thing on the menu which was a simple salad and even then she had to pick off the pieces of bacon on top, leaving her with lettuce, tomato and vinegar, which she reluctantly swallowed.

After a while though the bar went empty, the music and swinging had stopped and the laughter had died. Her waitress, the perky greeter girl also known as Caroline, had been super friendly and they had started chatting, first about her not having a date and the fact Caroline agreed and when she had finished her shift she had joined Lena for a drink. The bartender too kept Lena's glass full and kept asking if she wanted anything else from the kitchen, she politely declined. He, Jeff, had joined the conversation as well.

'So how long have you guys been living here?' Lena asked combining pleasure with necessity.

'All our lives,' they answered laughing in unison, 'no one comes to live here voluntarily,' Jeff added.

'So you guys perhaps know the Adams family?' Lena tried carefully.

'Yeah sure, Lins and Dave, we know them. Is that why you're here? About that thing in the paper?' Caroline asked not angry, just curious.

'Yeah actually I am, I'm a reporter for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle,' Lena lied picking the first newspaper that came to mind, 'so can you tell me what exactly happened?'

'We don't know, we've known the Adamses our whole life, we knew Dave was, well sterile, and they decided to adopt. The whole town supported both of them and at first they fostered three maybe four kids and then they started adopting. They became a big happy family of seven,' Caroline said.

'Yeah one of them was actually in my year in high school, good kids,' Jeff interrupted.

'So what happened?'

'We don't actually know, all of a sudden, one by one they disappeared from the town, or well so they said.'

'Yeah that's what the article said, so that's it?'

'Well according to another reporter, who wasn't allowed to publish his side of the story from his editor, the children are still in the house, death,' Caroline tried to say the word 'death' as scary as possible trying to get a reaction from Lena, little did she know Lena was used to much more than that.

'How'd he figure that?'

'He says he saw them, all of them at dinner time sitting on their chairs while Lins and Dave were feeding them but there was nothing to feed. They kept shoving food in their mouths but they didn't swallow. But I don't know the truth in that story.'

Lena had to think for a minute, this could just be a load of crap but she wondered, she should definitely check out the place tomorrow.

'So have there been more strange stuff going on here?'

'Nothing out of the ordinary, except maybe. Oh my God, do you remember?' she suddenly said laughing and hitting Jeff playfully, 'Mrs Larkin's dog,' the laughed in unison.

'What? What happened to the dog?'

'So funny,' Caroline started, 'this used to be this tiny little dog you keep in your purse, you know but lately that dog can't stand on it's own feet anymore. That poor animal has gotten huge and Mrs Larkin said she doesn't know what to do anymore. The dog just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Seriously it's a sight.'

'Yeah I'm sure,' Lena said frowning as she heard the story.

'More bar nuts, Lena?' Jeff asked while filling her glass yet again.

'No, no thank you,' she said gesturing to stop pouring, 'seriously I have to go get some sleep,' Lena stood up awkwardly from the saddle and put on her jacket while she asked for the bill, which came out a bit more expensive than she had expected. She said goodbye to her new found friends and made her way outside. She pulled the jacket a little tighter as a cold wind rushed by.

'Hey Lena, wait up,'

She turned and saw Jeff coming up to her in a jog.

'Did I forget something?' she asked.

'No, no. Caroline is going to close for me tonight so I figured maybe you'd like to spend some time alone with me,' he said a bit sheepishly, not appealing.

'What gave you that idea?' Lena scowled.

'I saw the way you looked at me,' he smirked.

'Hmm... and what do you suggest then?'

'I thought I'd give you the best night of your life, but hey if you're not interested,' he said backing away.

Lena had to pause, she liked the boldness that had suddenly manifested itself into this young man but on the other hand, she had talked to him tonight and she had gotten to know him. This could become awkward.

'Okay fine, show me what you got,' she said with boredom in her voice.

'Wait how drunk are you?' Jeff asked suddenly.

'Not nearly drunk enough,' she said turning around and walking back to the B&B, he came up behind her and put his arm around her shoulders, she shook them off quickly and he got the hint, luckily.

Back in Lena's bedroom the roles were reversed, instead of Jeff teaching Lena a thing or two it was Lena who took control, like always. And as he had grabbed her ass while she straddled him she felt something on the back of his neck but instead of focussing on it she just rode out the waves as his body was convulsing in sheer pleasure.

********************************

When he was done she got off and fell besides him, exhausted from the booze and the long day. She almost fell asleep instantly, even forgetting to kick Jeff out of her bed.

When Lena woke up the next morning she was actually still tired and confused again, she had to think twice about where she was exactly but the one hand on her boob and the snoring bartender beside her shook her back to reality. She quickly removed the hand and jumped into the bathroom. She got dressed and left the room.

'Right in time for breakfast, dear,' Bessie said as she trotted up the stairs, 'I'll be down in a sec,'

'Uhm, sure, thanks,' Lena said leaning against her door. 'Oh God, what have I done?' she said to herself.

She went downstairs and took a seat by the window, she oversaw the buffet that was laid out neatly but she couldn't stomach anything but coffee and a cigarette. So she decided to just stare out of the window and do some research on her laptop while having her coffee.

Bessie had other things in mind though.

'You shouldn't have breakfast and use your laptop at the same time it's not healthy,' she exclaimed closing the laptop and snatching it away to put on the empty table behind her.

'Excuse me?' Lena said completely baffled.

'Scientifically proven,' she replied, 'here have some eggs, some cornflakes, some bread, oh and I have fresh fruit,'

Before Lena could say anything Bessie started to load the table with everything that had been neatly stalled. Lena couldn't believe how much food she was expected to eat.

'Sorry Bessie but I'm really not that hungry, just coffee, thanks,'

'Oh no missy, you're way too skinny already, come on eat something, gain some weight. How do you expect to survive the winter without any flesh on your bones,'

'Seriously Bessie, I'm fine. I'll survive the winter believe me.'

'Yeah well as long as you are under my roof and well anywhere else in this town you'll eat breakfast, lunch and supper.' Bessie was honest and adamant.

Reluctantly Lena caved and picked up an apple to please the old broad.

Luckily she suddenly saw a familiar, rusty, old Chevelle. She sighed in relief, dropped the apple and went to greet Bobby by the door.

'Hey girly, what's up?' he asked while enveloping Lena.

'People here are weird,' she whispered in his ear.

'No kidding,'

Bobby let go of her and they walked back to her table.

'Bessie, old girl, how are you doing?'

'Bobby? Bobby Singer?' Bessie exclaimed welcoming him with a big hug, 'I didn't know you had kids?'

Bobby just smiled in reply.

'You have been gone for too long, old man,' she said sighing.

'Who you calling old man,' he replied taking a seat while Bessie fetched him a plate, unlike Lena, Bobby could eat a horse after driving all night.

'Here you go Bobby, you still take your coffee black?'

'Yeah thanks,' he said refocusing his attention on Lena who was sitting across from him.

'So what did you find out?' he asked.

'You know that woman?'

'Yeah sure Bessie, I stayed here a couple of times while hunting, she's nice,' Bobby said.

'Yeah and completely weird,'

'What do you mean?'

'I was here five minutes and she already started acting like a mum,'

Bobby laughed; 'Yeah she does that, she sometimes acts like my mum too,'

'No Bobby, that's not what I'm talking about,'

Bobby wanted to inquire more but was interrupted by Lena who nearly ducked under the table.

'What the hell are you doing?'

'Lena? Lena?!' Jeff inquired in the dining room.

'Hey Jeff,' she said crawling back up from under the table.

'You found it?' Bobby helped.

'Yeah I did,' she said holding up one of her rings.

Jeff came over and tried to kiss Lena on the lips but she turned her head making it a kiss on the cheek.

'Jeff, this is Bobby,' she said reluctantly.

Bobby on the other hand had become amused and stood up to shake the young man's hand and he gladly took it.

'I'm the father,' he said toying with the guy.

'Oh sir, it's so nice to meet you,'

'Yeah, likewise,'

But when Lena saw that Jeff was about to sit down she not so very subtly signalled that that was not an option. So Jeff departed and left them alone.

'Fun night?'

'It was okay, I've had better,' she said.

'Please stop talking, I don't want to know,'

'Then why did you ask?'

'So you were saying? Bessie was acting weird?'

'Yeah I don't know why but I just got this really strange feeling,'

'Seriously?'

Just then Bessie came by to ask if Bobby wanted anything else but he politely declined and watched her walk away. Then he saw the mark on the back of her neck.

'See that?'

Lena followed Bobby's gaze and nodded.

'Jeff had on too, I think,'

'What do you mean you think?'

'Well, I didn't see it, I felt something on the back of his neck,'

'That could have been anything, you check, you double-check. What were you thinking? You're on the job!' Bobby whispered hard.

Lena was ashamed that she hadn't been more careful, she should've checked it and Bobby was completely right. She apologized and promised not to do it again, Bobby was planning on sending her home right that instant but unfortunately he needed her for the job, and if she wasn't going to screw up again she could be quite useful.

Lena proposed to check out the Adamses, Bobby agreed and told her to stake the house while he went to check out the locals.

*********************************

Bobby hadn't seen anything weird or suspicious as he strolled around town. He had been thinking a lot though, he hadn't seen this side of Lena and honestly it took him a while to get used to it. He felt like she was no longer his 'girly'. She was more distant and, dare he think it, cold. That permanent smile had vanished together with that unbelievable spark in her eyes, except maybe when she talked about hunting, then he saw a shimmer of the Lena he used to love and know.

Bobby bought three different newspapers from the area and decided to scan them while eating lunch in the local diner.

While he was enjoying his cheeseburger there was one article, about low attendance in school that drew his attention but it wasn't until he overheard a conversation between two teenagers that he figured it might be connected.

He heard two young girls talking about friends of there's checking into the ED-department in the local hospital. He decided he should check it out and left the diner burger half-eaten.

*********************************

In the meanwhile Lena was getting bored of seeing Mr and Mrs Adams going about there day. She saw Dave reading the paper, Lins by the stove, nothing out of the ordinary, until, yes until, the antique grandfather's clock started to chime at noon. Lena saw how the parents made there way down, to what seemed a basement, and dragged out their five children to the table where an excessive amount of food was placed neatly. And as the scene unfolded in front of Lena's eyes she could no longer stand to watch as she called the police. She did not understand why people haven't seen this or why the disappearance of the children would be such a mystery. They were all dead and as Lena could tell, it was over feeding that cost them their lives. Again Lena saw the mark on the back of Lin's neck, she figured she had seen enough and she ran to the other side of the street where she had parked her car, then she could no longer hold it in, she threw up everything that had been in her stomach, next to the Mustang, and she thanked God that she hadn't eaten breakfast. She decided she needed to see those kids' hospital records and find out more about the abusive family.

*********************************

'Hi, I'm with the CBC, it has come to our attention that this hospital might be a health-risk for MRSA and other airborne-bacteria. I need to see all the hospital's records for the past three to four weeks,' Bobby explained to the bored receptionist.

'You guys always travel in pack?' she asked.

'What do you mean?'

'Your colleague's already in there follow me please,'

'My colleague?' Bobby whispered as he was led by the short red-headed forty year old through some small hallways and eventually ended up in what seemed like a janitor's closet.

As Bobby walked in he saw his colleague, he saw a strikingly beautiful woman, who could probably by-pass any security just by showing some leg and that's exactly what she had done. Wearing a tight pencil skirt with a white blouse, black blazer and black stilettos she turned around and smiled at Bobby.

'Who are you sir?' The woman asked pulling off her reading glasses.

'Mr Buscemi CBC,' Bobby replied giving her his hand, 'and you are?'

'Ms Cobain CBC,' she replied shaking the star-struck man's hand.

'So you two don't know each other?' the receptionist asked.

'Different area,' they replied almost simultaneously.

The woman lifted her shoulders and left the odd couple.

'Wow girly, you can sure dress for the job,' Bobby told her.

'Thanks,' she huffed, 'so what are you doing here?'

'I think teenagers have been checking in the hospital on a regular base. How were the Adamses?'

'The story checked out, unfortunately, you should have seen it Bobby, it was just revolting.'

'You call the authorities?'

'Yeah I left an anonymous tip, but I doubt they're going to do anything about it.'

'Let's copy these and get out of here,'

'Yeah, this town gives me the creeps,'

Bobby and Lena grabbed the files that looked the most interesting and they left the hospital.

'Okay so, the Adamses fed their children to death and these files indicate a lot of teenagers have come down with bulimia,' Bobby said nipping from his coffee.

'Don't forget the odd spots on some people's necks,'

'Right so when push comes to shove we've got bupkiss,' Bobby said.

'Haven't you seen this once before?'

'Yeah, maybe I did,' Bobby replied thinking way back to the time his wife was still there, 'but I didn't solve it back then either.'

The familiar Nokia-tune rose above the noise of the diner as Bobby pulled his phone out of his inner pocket.

'What did you find out?'

Lena immediately knew who was on the phone with him and she hastily signalled Bobby that she wasn't there. She had to smile a little too, this was the closest she had been to him in a long time and for some reason she kind of liked this secrecy between her and Bobby.

'No you're probably right, we are skipping town too.'

'Yellowstone,'

'No I have another hunter here with me. Dean, go to St-Louis, Missouri and check out that one story.'

'Be safe Dean, bye,'

* * *

**A minute of your time for a review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it took so freaking long to update, I've been extremely busy in September with travelling and the new schoolyear that started. Hopefully I'll be able to post more frequent now that I'm getting my routine back.**

**And of course, hopefully you all like it of course.  
**

* * *

Chapter 5: Bury the Death

'You found anything yet?' Lena asked as she strolled in with groceries. She had been crashing at Bobby's for the past few days ever since they came back from Yellowstone.

'Quit asking, if I find something you'll know believe me,'

Lena grimaced at Bobby who was a bit on edge to say the least.

'Okay sorry Bobby, one last question though, why do you think these things are related?'

'I never said,'

'Come on Bobby, I'm no idiot,'

Bobby took a deep breath, not like he was tired of Lena and her questions but just because he was tired, he didn't even know how to explain the hunch he had.

'Honestly? I don't know, girly, I feel like these cases have something in common, look at the MO; It's like these people think they're doing good but actually...'

'They're on a killing spree?' Lena finished.

'Yeah, exactly,'

'Why didn't you tell Sam and Dean?'

'If they know what we're looking for they might see things that aren't there,'

'If they know what we're looking for the search might be wrapped up more quickly and efficiently'

Bobby had to smile, she was right but they were doing this his way.

'So how're the boys doing anyway?' she said grabbing a book making it a casual question instead of a dying-to-know-everything inquiry.

'Fine I guess,'

******************

'Dean you should've turned right,' Sam said sighing and turning the map again.

'No we shouldn't have!'

'Seriously Dean, we need to make an investment and buy a freakin GPS!'

'Quit badgering me about the GPS, I want to take the scenic route anyway. Just read the map, Navigator.'

'Urgh,' Sam sighed turning the map again, 'fine take a right, then a right again,'

'That's a one way Sam, come on look at the road!'

'Dean, stop!' Sam yelled looking at something.

The impala came to screeching halt.

'What? What is it?'

'Look at that,' Sam said staring out the window.

'What am I looking at?'

'Sam just pointed with his finger, aggravating Dean more.

'What? What? Use your verbs!'

'The cemetery, don't you see it?'

'See what?'

'It looks like all those graves are new,'

'What's so special about that?'

'How can that be in such a small town?'

'Good point,'

Both boys got out of the car and Sam waited scanning the perimeter while Dean got two shotguns with rocksalt out of the boot.

It was just starting to get dark when Dean and Sam approached the graveyard with trepidation. Neither one knew what was going on. They saw a lot of new graves and even a lot of open holes.

'Okay so these are obviously fresh,' Dean said pointing at a couple, 'but why aren't there any grave markers, no one knows who's under the soil,'

'True,' Sam said walking further and further into an older part of the field.

Dean couldn't wrap his head around it all until he felt something closing around his ankle, he turned around swiftly and saw a hand reaching out trying to find a hold.

'Sam, zombie alert!' Dean said pointing his shotgun to the grave.

'Oh goody,' Sam sighed getting closer and ready as well.

'How are we supposed to stake him to his coffin if there's six feet of dirt between coffin and zombie?' Dean noted with a tiny bit of panic in his voice.

'Lets cross that bridge when we come to it,' Sam said as he saw the head crowning.

Suddenly a boy, no older than seventeen, crawled out and fought to get air in his lungs. Sam and Dean needn't to think twice and opened fire on him until they heard him scream in agony.

Dean looked at his brother and saw that he was just as stunned as he was.

'What the fuck?' Dean mouthed to Sam.

'Oh God, stop, stop, stop trying to kill me,' the boy yelped.

Dean and Sam's nickel finely hit the floor as they rushed over to help him.

'We're so sorry, we didn't mean to shoot you,' Sam started to apologize but the boy wouldn't hear it, he was crying out of sheer exhaustion and he was mumbling something else as well.

'My sister,' he whispered.

'Your sister did this?' Dean asked stunned.

The boy just shook his head as he still held his chest where the rocksalt had hit. Dean realized what he was trying to say and he scrambled back on his feet.

'Sam take out the shovels,' Dean said but Sam was already sprinting, 'kid I know you're in pain but you better get your ass off the ground and help us!' Dean commanded and without a word he nodded and got to work while Dean was already on his knees scraping away the loose dirt with his bare arms.

All three were busy digging up graves while a forty year old man managed to climb out himself.

'What the hell is going on here?!' Dean yelled at Sam who was only a few feet further.

'Seems people are burying others alive,'

'Yeah brainiac, I got that,' Dean yelled back, 'take a shovel and start digging man,' he ordered the forty year old.

Dean finally found the casket and broke it with the shovel at the feet. He pulled the wood to shreds and freed a twelve year old girl.

'Dean?! You got one?'

'Don't know yet!' he replied.

Dean checked the pulse and found a very faint heartbeat.

'She's unconscious, you call 911 yet?'

'Yeah they'll be here soon, try and wake her up,'

Dean was torn between digging up someone else and making this girl take a deep breath. He tried to wake her by gently slapping her cheeks. The brother came rushing when he realized it was his sister Dean had dug up.

'Come on Ellie, wake up, come on,' he said taking her into his arms. His tears clearing away the dirt on his face.

Very slowly the girl came to and the brother felt her heartbeat picking up again.

Dean had moved on to another grave and was digging as fast as he could.

'Hey, if she's conscious you need to keep working,' he said to the boy, he hated it cause he knew that if it were him everybody could scream fire and he would still stick to his sibling but against all odds the boy nodded, kissed his sister's forehead and started digging again. Dean had to handed to the man he was stronger than he looked.

'What's your name anyway?'

'It's Peter,'

'Well nice to meet you Peter, I'm Dean and that head you can see going up and down is my brother, Sam,' the boy nodded in response and both got on with the job again.

'So how this happen?' Dean asked Peter all the while shovelling dirt.

'I have no clue, went to bed last night and woke up six feet under,'

'What that's it?'

'Well I did feel a little drowsy last night,'

'Like you were really, really tired drowsy or like someone slipped you something drowsy,' Dean asked.

'I don't know, the second one I guess,'

Suddenly Dean saw something in the corner of his eye and turned his head, he saw Sam leaving his hole and starting to dig another one.

'Sam!' Dean yelled in some sort of question voice.

Sam didn't answer he just shook his head in defeat, later Dean found out that it was a thirty-five year old overweight man, who had lost his fingernails trying to claw his way out but to no avail.

Both Sam and Dean had taken off their shirts in the middle of their second dig, sort of speak, and were actually pleased when it started to drizzle a bit. Sam was relieved when he broke the coffin he found beneath his feet, he found a freaked out twenty-nine year old who started crying in despair when Sam lifted her out of the pine box.

After about three hours of digging with everyone who was capable they freed about nine people and lost three, the overweight man, a small five year old who probably died of fear and a sixty something year old woman who Dean wasn't sure of she was actually buried alive.

Dean and Sam were sitting on the Impala watching the events quietly. They saw the blue and red lights, people coming and going, Dean saw Peter inseparable from his sister, who had regained her normal colour.

'What the hell is going on here Sam?' Dean asked. He wiped his face clean with his shirt and put it back on while Sam spoke.

'I don't know,' he sighed in reply.

Sam had a hard time admitting it but he honestly had no clue, he had never even read about something like this. He felt that this was bigger than any of them could handle. For the first time since the apocalypse Sam felt they were in over their heads.

*****************************

Sam and Dean had left the scene before the paramedics got a whiff of them and they were driving out of town when Dean called Bobby.

'Bobby?' Dean yelled into his phone, 'What the hell!!'

'I can't calm down, we just dug up nine people, alive!'

'Marks on their necks? No, how do you know about that?'

'What do you mean we need to stay and find out who did this? No this town gives me the creeps, just like La Crosse,' then Dean calmed down and Sam turned his head. Just there and then it dawned on both of them that strange feeling they had in La Crosse came back the minute they hit St-Louis.

'We're driving in the wrong direction,' Dean suddenly said to himself.

'Sorry Bobby, wasn't talking to you, I'll call you later,'

'What do you mean Dean, we're not going back there. This is bigger and we can't stop what's happening by digging up people day and night,'

'Yeah I know,'

'Then what do you mean?' Sam asked.

Dean swung the car around and came to a halt on the other side of the road.

'What's a matter Dean?' Sam asked while both boys got out of the car.

'Get the map Sammy,' Dean said fairly calm but distraught just the same.

Sam did as he was told and laid it out on the hood of the Impala.

'Look, we got into the car and our first thought was get the fuck out, right?'

'Right,'

'So we left here,' Dean went on putting his finger west of St-Louis, 'we took the I-55 out of town and now we are here,' he said tracing his finger over the paper and stopping East of St-Louis.

'You saying you were led by your feelings to just drive in the opposite direction?'

'Yeah, but the opposite of what?'

'Good question, Dean I think we should sleep on it for a night, we've been digging holes and driving all day and night and I just can't think straight anymore.'

'You're right, we'll hold up here for a few hours, check into that motel and see what's what in the morning. Hopefully Bobby'll show up with a great insight.'

The boys did as they said, with St-Louis in their rear-view mirror they checked into the Chieftain motel and slept soundly for a few hours. Sam however just wanted to go home and see his girls but he did realize that what they were doing was more important than playing the role of perfect husband at this point. Dean was content too, it felt great to be back in the saddle again, being on his toes again, and he had to admit he did miss Angela, but not like he had missed the job.

****************************

'Yeah?' Bobby said as he picked up his phone.

'Calm down, Dean,' he said evenly listening to the rambling voice on the other side.

'Dean, listen, did you see any marks on their necks?'

'I just know okay, you have to stay in St-Louis, find out who put them there in the first place,' Bobby asked interested in the whole ordeal.

'What do you mean?'

'Hello? Dean?'

'Dammit,' Bobby said throwing his cell on the table. He put both his fists on the table and leaned on his arms trying to make sense out of all the books that were spread on the table.

'What was that all about?' Lena asked opening her eyes slowly. She noticed the book that was on her stomach, she figured she must have dozed off.

'And what time is it?'

Bobby had to smile when he saw his girly on the couch getting up slowly, her hair was a bit messed up and tangled in the back and as the light came into the dusty room she looked innocent and lovely again.

'I hope you enjoyed your nap,'

'If your interpretation of enjoyment is being followed by a bunch of mosquito-bitten zombies in lalal-land then yeah I enjoyed it very much. Remind me to quit reading these lore books before shutting my eyes,'

Bobby grinned at her. Lena got up and looked down at the table as well.

'So what did the boys have to say?'

'A lot of crazy shit, but I think they wanted to sleep first, they had been digging up people all night,'

'Digging up bodies, why?'

'Cause they were still breathing,' Bobby said as casual as he could still browsing the books.

'Oh my God! You're kidding me right? Djeez what the hell!'

'Yeah that's what Dean said,'

Lena kept shaking her head as she walked to the kitchen to get some food and something to drink. She came back with two plates full of leftovers from the evening before. She put some books aside and ordered Bobby to sit and eat with her. He reluctantly gave in but before sitting down he shook his head and mumbled: 'we are in over our heads,'

This made Lena wonder, are there actually things out there that are over Bobby's, Sam's and Dean's head?

'Are you serious?' Lena asked sincerely after a long time of silence.

'What are you talking about?' Bobby asked confused.

'Are we in over our heads?'

'I don't know,' Bobby said, 'maybe. It's just all this research is getting us bupkiss, we all have strange feelings but can't figure it out,'

'So what if... and bare with me here for a sec, what if you call a general meeting, call every hunter you know, get a legion together.'

'Are you gonna start singing a verse of _together we are stronger_?' Bobby asked sarcastically.

'No, but think about it, more manpower, we'd have some sort of headquarters where all the information would be easily accessible. Look Bobby, we know of three places, they're miles apart and maybe related, god knows how many other towns, cities have been hit with this wave of madness.'

'Yeah, maybe,'

'Look Bobby it's late, your eyes haven't seen the back of your lids in some time now, let's go to bed, sleep on it and we'll see what the boys come up with in the morning.'

Lena put her arm around Bobby's shoulder and dragged him away from the books. She almost shoved him into his bedroom and closed the door, not five minutes later she heard the snoring and she smiled.

Lena went back downstairs and cleaned the table, washed the plates and took one of the books that were on the table, she wasn't expecting to find anything but she was always interested in learning, she took it outside and flipped on the lights. Her breath stocked as she saw the porch swing, the one she and Dean had bought for Bobby, she couldn't remember what the occasion was, though. She thought back to one of the best nights of her life, she and Dean had sat here and just enjoyed the moon and each other. She rapidly lit the cigarette and took two drags, she sat down on the swing and started reading. After a couple of dozen pages, two cigarettes, and one scotch, she fell asleep on the swing and she dreamt of Dean, and she enjoyed it as a smile crept up on her unconscious mind.

* * *

**R&R please**


	6. Chapter 6

**With extreme redness on my cheeks I dare to update. I am truly embarrasses that it took so long for me to get my drive back. I think it's back. I know those of you who were actually enjoying the story were a bit annoyed that six chapters in there still were no answers. Well this one won't give you them either, this is really a set-up chapter for what's to come in chapter 7. Which shouldn't take too long to write as I know exactly what needs to happen and how it will happen.**

**So without further ado... chapter 6. Please read and review... good or bad, I love criticism.  
**

* * *

Chapter 6: Calling a Summit and visiting the Imprisoned.

Dean woke up and honestly felt ten times better than he had last night. The weird feeling in his gut was gone and he welcomed the soreness in his muscles to that horrible feeling in his lower abdomen any time.

'God, you needed it more than I did,' Sam said coming out of the bathroom with a blue toothbrush hanging from mouth.

'How's Julie?' Dean smirked as he had been woken up by Sam who was on the phone in the bathroom.

'What do you mean?' Sam said acting tough, as if he could still stomach the life that Dean was presenting to him.

'Come on, I heard you on the phone,' Dean said with a smile that put Sam at ease, as to say it's alright, your priorities have changed but you're still the second best hunter on the planet.

'Good, she's good,' Sam sighed, 'she's actually going to go shopping with Angela today,'

'Angela?'

'Yeah your girlfriend,'

'Yeah! I know who she is,' he bit back, 'I just hadn't thought of them together,'

'You don't like it?' Sam asked.

'Yeah, sure, I don't care,'

Sam left the conversation for what it was, he found it weird that Dean wasn't over the moon about this. He always loved it when their girlfriends got along, hell he would find a girl close to Sam's girl to fool around with, so they could all stay close. To much of Sam's dismay of course, since his girl would slap and leave him the minute Dean would pull a stunt.

'Okay so,'

'So what?'

'I still don't have a clue where to go from here,' Dean fessed up.

'Yeah well you don't get a say in it, faith decided for you,'

'What are you talking about?' Dean asked.

Sam didn't answer and just threw him the Times; 'We're going to Lufkin, Texas'

'Yihaa.' Dean replied non-enthusiastically.

* * *

'Katie, please, please, come with us today.' Julie begged.

'What do you mean you don't feel like it, Chris is coming!' Julie lied, she still had to convince Chris.

'I don't know Julz, I still have tons to do and I don't really know her,'

'Come on Katie, this is the perfect opportunity to get to know her,' Julie almost begged, 'shop, it's fun, it's what girls do right?' she said not convinced as she was not the shopping type.

Julie heard Katie groan on the other side of the line and she knew she had her.

'Give me a fucking break,' Katie said, Julie might be on the other end but she just knew her friend had rolled her eyes in defeat.

'Thanks Katie, you wont regret it,' she hastily continued and before Katie could protest the line was dead.

Julie started dialing again and tapped her feet anxiously as she awaited a response.

'Chris, it's me,' and so the conversation with Katie repeated itself.

'Oh for fuck sake,' Chris answered in the end.

'Thanks Chris, you knew you wouldn't be able to leave me alone with her,' Julie scared herself when she said that, she didn't feel any anger or resentment towards Angela. She shook off that feeling and blamed it on the pregnancy hormones. Her mood swings were hard to control lately.

'That's not what I meant,' Julie apologized. 'sorry Chris,'

'It's all right babe, don't worry, where do you want me?'

'Let's say Tim Horton's at noon?' she asked tentatively.

'Sure, I'll be there. But you're buying me a tall French Vanilla Latte,'

'Yeah I know,' Julie sighed, 'and a tall iced non-fat mocha, two pumps, no whip for Katie,'

She heard Christina snicker on the other side and said goodbye before she ended the conversation.

* * *

Angela hung up the phone and started feeling really nervous. Three women, her boyfriend regarded extremely high, with a love that could only bound families together, and she had to go out shopping with them. She was nuts, she thought.

She was frantically thinking what she should wear for this impromptu gathering. She had only seen these three once. Julie appeared a more casual girl, she didn't feel completely comfortable in that baby-pink dress she had worn on her wedding anniversary. Katie was the casual chic kind of girl with the end of her hair in fun colours, last time it was bright blue and Chris looked good in anything she whipped on, mostly skirts and tanktops, Angela remembered from pictures. Angela decided that getting through the day would be more important than what she wore, so she had to be comfortable. She put on some black skinny pants, a white shirt that was wide but clung to her waist and her trusty converse shoes. She twirled once in the mirror and shrugged , trying to remember again why she cared so much. Was this relationship even going to last? Dean had already been gone for about two weeks and she only had one hasty telephone call. That reminded her again that she was actually mad. So her mind was set; screw these girls if they didn't like her for what she was, it's not like she'd be sticking around much longer. Who was she kidding. She loved this peculiar family, she had only met them once and had been completely enthralled by their behavior. It looked like the seven of them had been together forever. The inside jokes, the similar laughter, the way Dean looked at his female friends with so much love and without any sexual undertone, it was like they were indeed siblings. She wanted so hard to be part of that. She knew she could make Dean happy and in time he would trust her enough to let her into his heart. She'd come to love Julie as a sister and have true friendships based on trust and love instead of spite and jealousy as she was used to. And as she realized this was the life she really wanted and would do anything for, she took the mirror and smashed it. She was barely able to contain her tears as she saw the object of her distaste hit the floor and break into a thousand tiny pieces flying everywhere. What the hell was she doing, putting all of her hopes and energy in a future that might never come true. Did she honestly love Dean? Or did she needed him? Was it a family she wanted or this man who took off without notice and who keeps things from her deliberately?

Her head was spinning with questions she did not want to answer. She was furious with herself, she checked the clock and ran out the door, happy that she had applied her make-up before all these realizations had hit her.

* * *

'So Sam, what can I do for you?'

'Well I kind of nicked a few things,' Sam said looking around the office, feeling uncomfortable with a hat, the chewing gum and pants that had seen better days but Dean had made him, 'painted a few stuff. Need a lawyer. Stupid legal shit.'

'You got the accusations with you?'

'Nah, sorry dude.'

'Then I am not sure I can help you young man,' Tom the overweight forty-year old said.

Sam shrugged again, he was very disappointed when he first looked at Tom, the man's hair desperately needed a haircut and because of that he could not see the back of this man's neck.

'I know,' Sam finally said standing up and using his full length to make sure Tom never called him 'young man' again. He walked over to the diploma's on the wall and had to suppress a smile when he discovered that this man had probably had professor Langley aswell back at Stanford. Damn he missed college, well not college per se more knowledge. He quickly glanced over the books on the shelves and found what he was looking for; a family picture. The reaction was involuntary and the man came quickly to his feet as his protector side took control. He went to stand beside Sam and held out his hand but Sam pretended he didn't see this.

'Nice family you got here, bet you have a lovely home,' he said without trying to be menacing but succeeding anyway.

'Yes, but Mr. Smith,' he replied using his courteous side again, 'why don't you tell me more why you're here,'

'All right,' Sam sighed as he put back the picture with a little more force than strictly necessary.

'Look man, I'll give it to you straight, I heard you got a buddy of mine acquitted. Pro Bono no less.'

'Who's you're buddy?' The lawyer asked now intrigued.

'Jared Martin,'

'Ah Mr Martin, yes indeed he was unable to afford my services but I felt he deserved to roam free,'

Sam's eyes narrowed and leaned closer over the man's desk.

'But he had two accounts of murder on his sheet.'

'Allegedly,'

'But you and I both know he did it,' Sam said narrowing his eyes.

'I don't know I wasn't there.' The lawyer said with a smirk on his face that proved his legal abilities.

'Fine, Mr Jenks, I'll get in touch with you when necessary,'

Sam rose and didn't even bother to shake the man's hand, that wasn't expected of him.

'Hey, what did you get?' Dean asked pushing Sam's Starbucks across the table as he barely lifted his eyes from the computer screen in front of him.

'Well, this guy is good,' Sam replied taking the gum out of his mouth and sticking it to the Styrofoam cup before he took a sip, 'it's hard to say though, he's been to Stanford and he has a nice family. Douchebag was not written on his forehead as far as I can tell.'

'Doesn't mean he isn't one,' Dean mumbled agreeing with himself that pretty much all lawyers were douchebags, 'any spots on his neck?'

'Couldn't see, his hair was too long,'

'So you didn't find out anything? Disappointing Sammy,'

Sam just lifted the brown folders in his hand and without a word he wiped off that smug smile Dean was carrying so often.

* * *

'So, you sleep well?'

'Yeah I did actually, holly crap you look like hell,' Bobby said as he actually looked up to his houseguest.

'You stay up all night or something?' Suddenly Bobby remembered Lena's change in personality as he started scanning the perimeter with his eyes and ears for strange men.

'Yeah you could say that,' Lena said not able to suppress a yawn, 'I fell asleep on the porch but the cold woke me and then I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to read. If I don't find anything I at least learn something right Bobby?'

'Yeah, sure.' He replied not entirely convinced.

'Say, I thought about what you said last night,'

'And?' Lena pressed.

'I think you might have a point. I'll be calling a general hunter's meeting in ten days.' Bobby said. He waited for Lena's reaction but he could only make out her silence as she crossed her hands and held them in front of her face.

'What?' he asked.

'Ten days is too long Bobby,' she said with a sigh indicating her fatigue.

'Look girly I can hardly gear up all the hunters we'll need in ten days, let alone I can do that in less.'

'I understand Bobby, but you forget I'm here now.'

Bobby's silence told Lena she was not to press the matter but well Lena never really did what she's supposed to do.

'After what you told me last night, the kids in the ground, buried alive, the family feeding their death children, how many more times can we turn a blind eye?'

Bobby was raging inside but he knew she was right, and he fucking hated to admit it to himself, let alone her, but she was a fine person and he was damned proud that she had the balls to stand up to him. Even Dean listened to Bobby without thinking twice, he might give him some attitude but in the end he just did what he was good at. Bobby had not seen Lena in true fighting action yet and he hoped to God that he never will but he had to admit she had a fine good nose and she was quick on her feet. He hadn't even thought about setting up a meeting as they had so hoped that last meeting would have been their last. After the apocalypse they had said this was done.

'Fine, a week,' he said through gritted teeth but then added; 'that's all I can give you girly.' As he slumped into his seat, taking out a phone he started to dial.

'Huh,' he huffed.

'What?' Lena mouthed

'The moon'll be full in a week,'

'So?' Lena asked not getting the innuendo.

'People always get a little crazy with a full moon.' He replied raising his eyebrows.

'Rufus? It's Bobby,' he suddenly said changing conversations.

Lena decided to do the same and started tapping the keys of her own phone.

'This is Lena Dylan, am I speaking with Amy Brown?'

'Hi, yes. I'm calling for Bobby Singer.'

'Yes he's fine, perfectly healthy as far as I can see. Listen we're calling a summit. I'm activating the tree.'

Lena heard the disbelief on the other end and the woman was rapidly going though all the stages of grief; anger, insecurity, denial,... Eventually her professionalism returned and she did as she was told by Lena.

All conversations had the same tone and same urgency message to it. Lena thought she had ten people showing by the end of the who's who in the Hunter's directory, also known as Bobby's address book. She wondered how many would show as the phone tree was activated.

* * *

'Sam we're not twelve anymore, just spit it out,'

'Okay fine,' he replied putting the folder in between them. 'so I swiped these on my way out. These are some old cases of Tom, these are current cases.' Sam said indicating two different sets.

'So what are you saying? That he was a do-gooder who worked for the prosecution, putting murderer's behind bars and now he works at a mayor corporation and is actually setting some loose?' Dean asked in his conceited voice.

'Yeah actually,' Sam said his eyebrows meeting in the middle as he frowned, 'how'd you know?'

'Because I'm smart,'

'Dean,' he replied calmly.

'I just googled him.'

'Seriously?' Sam was appalled by the lack of privacy any one member in this universe still had.

'Yeah, there's even a Wikipedia file on him. He even won some do-gooder award. Why don't I ever get one of those?'

Sam took hold of the computer and turned it around so he could watch the screen.

'You googled me?'

'Yeah, I was wondering what'd pop up.'

'What's the most common result?' Sam inquired scrolling through the results.

'Actually, a woman name Mrs Sam Winchester. She must be a blogger or something. It's not Julie though.'

Sam huffed, 'of course not, Julie would never call herself that way and neither would I if I plan on living for another decade or so.'

Dean smiled and had to agree, no woman he knew would ever take on their husband's complete and full name.

'Okay so, we've established that I'm smarter than you and that this guy was a good guy until well a couple of weeks ago.' Dean summarized, 'maybe that guy he set free actually was innocent.'

'Naha,' Sam said shaking his head, 'he pretty much confirmed the killings while I was up there and I read the file. Some clerical error. This guy is walking free notwithstanding the solid evidence against him. Seriously Dean, the only way this guy is out is a human error.'

'Okay fine, maybe this guy just had the douchy gene but it didn't kick in until now?'

Sam just lifted his brows and looked at his brother incredulously.

'We need to see his neck, don't we?' Dean agreed as Sam nodded, 'how did you plan on accomplishing that?'

But Dean's mind was already ahead of him, he finally got to do something he'd been longing to do for a while now.

'Let's go Sammy,'

Sam didn't ask he just followed but his gut told him that he was going to be embarrassed. He felt strange too. The feeling in his lower abdomen returned. He wanted to go and just conclude that Tom was indeed infected but when duty calls.

* * *

'Oh my God, these people are unbelievable!' Lena yelled astonished.

'What happened?' Bobby asked as he looked up from his computer.

'Here,' She said throwing him a couple of papers, 'all faxes of people checking up on my call! You hunters have trust issues, seriously!'

Bobby snickered and wrote _yes_ on the bottom of each page before he signed them all.

'Here fax these,' he said handing her back the various pages.

'You want coffee with that, Mr Singer?' Lena said sarcastically.

'If you don't mind,' Bobby replied with a smile holding up his empty coffee cup.

'I'm not a fucking secretary,' Lena mumbled too low for Bobby to hear as she walked to the kitchen getting two refills.

When Lena sat back down she was tired of staring at the same old books and decided to close her eyes for a minute, just a minute she promised herself as she laid her head on her folded arms on the table.

* * *

'Dean?!' Are you serious?'

'Yeah, why, did you have any better ideas?'

'No, but you'll get caught!'

'Then I'll at least have a lawyer,' Dean smirked as he looked at a reflection of himself in a shop's window, 'my God, I look smoking hot.' He added triumphantly.

Sam wanted to argue but he couldn't deny it when all the women who crossed them on the streets had turned their heads and almost tripped over their own feet.

'Okay there he is, here goes nothing, you stay back okay?' Dean said back in front of the building.

Without waiting for a response, Dean straightened his hat and walked up towards the lawyer.

'Excuse me sir, can I see some ID?'

Tom didn't know what was going on but he abided the officer's request.

'Just a routine check-up, Mr...' Dean looked at the picture and the name. 'Jenks.'

'Yes sure, no problem officer,' Tom replied dignified.

'Do you agree with me frisking you?' Dean asked a bit unsure at how this actually worked in reality.

'Why?'

'Look Mr Jenks, I can't tell you the specifics but you do know we're on Orange Alert right? Security checks are likely to happen more often.' Dean said his voice in high-authority mode, maybe a bit too much for an average cop.

'Yeah, no I understand, sure,' he agreed spreading his arms.

Dean frisked the man's upper body as he had been objected too many times and he not very subtly stroked away the hair in the man's neck. And it revealed what they needed to know. A slightly enlarged mosquito-bite. Dean sighed and was ready to leave the man alone but some of Tom's hair got caught in the rubber glove and without any incentive the man's hair came off when Dean removed his hand. Not quite realizing what just happened Dean was holding a wig in his hands.

'Oh God, I am so so sorry,' he started to apologize when Tom turned around completely mortified.

'You know what, I think you're clear,' the officer said as he gently put the piece back on Tom's head and without thinking twice he turned around to walk back behind the building where Sam would be waiting. Dean didn't turn around to see how the man was taking the little mishap, though his instincts told him not to turn his back to potential danger he knew the man wasn't carrying any concealed weapons so he kept walking.

When he found Sam completely in hysterics behind the building he knew he had been watching.

'Oh my God, that was priceless! I can't wait to tell Julie, you should have seen the look on your face carrying that dead marmot!'

'Shut up,' Dean said throwing the blue cap through the back window of the Impala.

'So,' Sam asked swallowing the last giggles, 'you saw his neck?'

'Yep, one mark on his neck.' Dean confirmed.

'Okay so we can get out of here?'

'Yeah and rather sooner than later please,'

'Hey Bobby, yeah Sam was right on the Times article. The lawyer had a red spot on his neck,' Dean said in the phone as he drove straight out of town.

'I don't know. How many places have been hit without us knowing? Say Bobby, do you know why some people get stung and others don't?'

'Yeah right,'

'A summit? Are you sure Bobby? People wont be happy, you seriously think that's necessary?'

'Yeah it has been a while. But well it's actually not a bad idea. Why didn't I think of that?'

'Oh the female huntress still with you, is she? So can I call her Mrs Singer yet?'

'You're a true gentlemen, letting her crash on your table.' Dean scoffed; 'There should be more men like you out there.'

The line went dead before he could add anything else.

Dean looked at his kid brother as he was sleeping soundly next to him. Sunset had come quickly and his own eyes were starting to sting. He tried to empty his mind for just a minute. Getting away from the job for just a second, his mind wondered toward Angela. He grinned, he wondered how he was going to explain weeks of absence, he had already said the conference would only be a couple of days. Maybe Bobby slipped in the shower and needed living assistance? He sighed heavenly and as quickly as the smile had appeared on his face just thinking about her, it disappeared again as he thought of all the complications and lies that came along with this relationship. Dean was ready to pound his head through a wall right about now. He knew Angela deserved better and soon she'd know it too and leave him. And he would do nothing to stop her.

Tired of mulling things over he pulled into a motel and he half-carried Sam to a room. Dean watched some TV as he tried to relax but Dr Sexy MD just didn't have the appeal anymore, every nurse reminded him of her and he did not want to deal with his problems right now.

* * *

Lena was half awake when she heard Bobby in the other room talking on the phone.

'Yeah, I thought so. How many more places will be hit?'

'No I don't, I have no clue what's going on, let alone the specifics,'

'Okay so listen Dean, we have called a summit,'

'Yeah I know, it's been a while,'

'Actually I can't take credit for it, wasn't my idea either,'

Lena had to smile when Bobby said that. She wanted to stop eavesdropping and just wake up properly but she felt an ache in her neck that would worsen when she came to a vertical position and frankly she just wanted to sleep more.

'Shut up Dean, you have no idea what you're talking about and yes actually she is still here, sleeping on my table as a matter of fact,'

Lena shot up in an instant and cracked her neck because of it, she winced at the pain.

'Bye Dean!' Bobby said as he hung up.

'So you told the boys? What did they say?'

'Actually Dean was pissed he couldn't take credit for the idea,' Bobby said looking up, he saw she was a bit proud but tried to conceal it, 'you did good girly,' he added.

'Shall I make us some dinner?' she said placing her hand on his shoulder.

'Yeah sure, why not,'

* * *

'Is she late?' Chris asked a bit annoyed sipping from her Vanilla Latte.

'I don't know, I said one, I think. Or did I say one-thirty?' Julie asked insecurely checking her watch.

'There she is,' Katie said as a blonde woman was running towards them Baywatch-wise.

'Sorry I'm late,' Angela said panting a bit, 'couldn't find a parking space,'

'That's alright, glad you could make it,' Julie said a bit faking but trying hard to be sincere.

Angela embraced her and the others quickly.

'Let's hit the shops, shall we?' Julie continued trying to avoid an awkward silence.

Katie grinned as she saw right through her act and dragged behind with Chris as Julie tried to strike up a conversation.

'So Angela, where'd you get your degree?'

'Mount St Mary's College, it's a school in LA, I was living in San Francisco back then.'

'Oh waw, the sun...' Julie said lovingly, she so longed for sun 24/7.

'Yeah, it's sunny alright, doesn't help the paleness though.' Angela replied.

'So what did your parents do?'

'My dad was a lab tech and mum stayed home with me and my brother.'

'You have a brother?'

'Yeah, Luke, he's about four years older though,'

Julie smiled in response.

'What?' Angela said almost completely comfortable with the girls.

'I have an older brother too, he lives up north.'

'Yeah I know,' Angela said a bit smug.

'Dean told you that?'

'Yeah sure, what hasn't he told me? You thought we'd never speak and never leave the bedroom?' she asked jokingly but all three shut up.

'Seriously, is that what you all think?' she continued incredulously, 'come on I might be blonde but I do have a brain that communicates with my mouth!'

'No don't take it like that,' Katie interrupted, 'It's Dean,'

'What about him?'

'Well we're not exactly used to Dean sharing and stuff.' Katie continued.

Suddenly Chris started laughing.

'Shut up Chris,' Katie said a bit mortified and Angela couldn't tell if Christina had said anything. Were they telepathic or something?

'Sorry Angela, what Katie is trying to say is that if it were us, we wouldn't want to leave the bedroom.' All three grinned at the prospect of having Dean and a bed in close proximity.

'You serious?' Angela asked looking at each of them and she even caught Julie's dreaming eyes before she snapped back to herself, she shook her head trying to get rid of the image.

'Of course, look we're all happily married, but boy Dean just doesn't count as cheating in my book.' Christina said.

'But I thought you guys were family?'

'Yeah sure but ain't nothing wrong with some wincest,' Katie said laughing out loud.

'Okay so then why haven't any of you actually slept with him, I mean he isn't above cheating, I think?'

Christina sighed; 'Oh you are sadly mistaken my friend,' she yelled from the stall where they were trying on outfits, 'I don't think Dean would cheat. Maybe if an old flame would walk back into his life but chances are slim. Plus well, Dean loves us too much, and more he loves our husbands too and he would never ever betray them like that. Neither would we. Besides I think Andy and maybe even Chris scare the hell out of him.'

Katie and Christina laughed simultaneously.

This whole conversation gave Angela a lot to ponder.

'So what can you guys tell me about Dean's ex, Lena Dylan, the writer? Any juicy gossip there?' she asked giddy pulling up her own pants again.

But the silence that followed was uncomfortable. She got out of the dressing room and saw Katie and Chris with a bundle over their arms and Julie was just coming out as well, barely able to look at Angela.

'What?' she asked innocently.

'You should ask Dean about that hunny, that's not our job,' Christina said a bit condescending, 'don't be mistaken darling, out of all Dean's girlfriends she's the one who knew him inside out, they were very much in love until they weren't.'

Angela understood and changed the tone in her voice to sincerity; 'then what happened? I'm not trying to be nosy, I just need to understand. Dean told me he broke up with her.'

'As I said, you need to talk to him about that, and Angela, hunny, I think in time he will. Just leave it be for now.'

Angela nodded in agreement though it was hard for her to deny that Christina just put fuel on the fire.

'Okay I will, but how do I keep from making the same mistake?'

Katie grinned; 'you won't, Dean will make sure of that.'

The subject was luckily dropped but Angela still had so many questions. Andy and Chris had joined the girls for dinner and Angela was happy that she got to spent a bit more time with the men as well. She liked them very much. It did piss her off just a little how perfect both couples were. Didn't they ever fight? She wondered. She figured it was mostly jealousy though. She and Dean could be like this... if he ever trusted her enough to stop lying and disappearing.

When Julie and Angela crossed the parking lot after dinner, Angela could no longer hold herself as she blurted out.

'Doesn't it make you crazy not knowing what they're doing and where they are and how long they're gone for?' she almost yelled tripping over her own words.

Julie didn't know how to respond, she talked to Sam every day, she knew they were in Lufkin, Texas. She knew what they were trying to do. Hell she even knew they had been digging up breathing bodies just a few days ago.

That fraction of a second that Julie hesitated told Angela more than Julie wanted to convey.

'Ah, I see,'

'No it doesn't bother me all that much,' Julie said trying to disguise the slip.

'You don't have to lie Julie. I understand.' Angela bit back a truckload of things to fling at Julie's head. Most of them asking why she couldn't be in their "so exclusive club". She felt like a five year old not being invited at a birthday party. Could she call her mom and make them include her?

She sighed deeply.

'Look Angela, it's not you, believe me! Trust Dean, I do, he'll come back to you when he's done finishing this job. And yes it might be a while before he confides in you about his time away but have faith. Dean is a good man.' Julie couldn't help herself and added 'He's doing good, saving the world sometimes.' That last part she said so quietly Angela couldn't have dreamed of hearing it.

* * *

Bobby came from the kitchen with breakfast and came upon an unexpected sight.

'What do you think you're doing? I thought we were in this together?' he said confused.

Lena grinned; 'we are, old man. Don't get melodramatic on me. But if we're able to stop the apocalypse I'd like a job to get back to. I have a meeting with my new editor.'

'But you'll be back?' Bobby asked trying to hide the hope in his voice. He had loved Lena living with him. It wasn't that he was lonely but having another heartbeat in the house made a world of difference. He also loved the fact that they had grown closer again. Before all the commotion they hadn't seen each other since the wedding and e-mails are just not the same.

'I'll be at the summit for sure, wouldn't want to miss it for the world.' Lena grinned.

'Good,' Bobby said sternly, 'breakfast first, you can leave after.'

'That's fine with me.' Lena said, though she wasn't exactly hungry, she'd miss her _home_ too. She was surprised with herself when she thought the word. Since when did she consider any place home? But she figured this is as close as she was going to get. And she had enjoyed it why it lasted.

'So what's the meeting about anyway? Don't you just mail them the manuscript and that's that?'

'Yeah normally, because I knew Astrid and she'd know I would strongly advise against cutting into my work but this new guy is trying to get a feel for my story, I guess. He doesn't know me yet. It's weird though, Astrid had said that there was a problem with the manuscript but I figured it was just the genre. Now this guy is saying the same thing. Oh well, guess I'll find out tomorrow.'

'Hmm,' Bobby just nodded as he took another sausage, 'when will you be in Livingston?'

'I don't know, bet I'd make it in four days unless you need me sooner.' She replied cautiously.

'No, that's alright, just keep your phone on you at all times,' he said matter-of-factly.

'Sure, meeting or not you know you take precedence.' She winked.

Lena was glad the conversation part was over, she knew Bobby would want to read the paper and enjoy the background music while he finished his breakfast. She also knew that the minute he would be totally absorbed in the daily news she would be able to clear the remnants of her cereal without him knowing.

She was right, Bobby unfolded the paper and within a minute there was oblivion. She laughed internally and shook her head a bit. She got up to the kitchen dumping her cereal in the sink and taking another big draught of her coffee. She looked at the kitchen one more time because she knew she wouldn't be back here so soon.

'Bobby, I'm off,' she said taking her suitcase and handbag, 'call me if you find anything and if you need me,'

Bobby wasn't the man of many words but he did get up and grabbed her firmly against his chest. For once Lena let herself slump a little as she hugged him back tightly, she was mad with herself that tears sprung to her eyes again. She took in one last deep breath before she grabbed her things and made her way to the door, without meeting her father's eyes.

'I love you Bobby,' she said before closing the door behind her.

Bobby knew Lena always needed the last word and therefore replied when she was out of hearing distance; 'I love you too hunny,'.

* * *

**As someone pointed out 'there are to many WTFs and no answers what so ever, I figured this person was right (did cause me to get writer's block though) anyway, next chapter will be an all resolving one. I don't know if Dean and Angela will get through their obvious problems. I guess I'd like your opinions about that. Anyone here feel passionately about Angela and Dean?**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise it wont be long before an update. I want to finish this story before my exams start. **

**Oh and I'll be eternally grateful for reviews, good or bad.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone, so I'm not coming through on my promise, for some reason unknown to myself this chapter decided to be way bigger than I anticipated. It took turns in directions that I did not foresee. In hindsight I'm grateful my mind started to fill in gaps and explications by itself but it should've warned me.**

**So I was planning on putting the Summit we've all been waiting for in here but since the chapter was already this long I decided to push the actions and the unravelling another chapter, else this one would have been too big an significant pieces would've been lost.**

**Okay so enjoy, happy holidays to everyone, and I used a song again; Last Man Standing by People in Planes.  
**

* * *

Chapter 7: Tagliatelle and a Ceaser Salad.

'So what do we do now? Hold up here for a while or check out other places?' Dean asked at breakfast stuffing another piece of toast in his mouth.

Sam looked out the window, his lips turned down when he saw the light drizzle.

'When and where is the summit exactly?' he asked still staring warming his hands on his cup of coffee.

'In six days, you know the place, Livingston, Montana. It'll take us a little over two days to get there though,'

Suddenly Sam's face cleared up when he looked at Dean expectantly.

'What? Oh no Sammy, we can't. It'll take us over two days to get there.'

'Not if you let me drive sometimes.'

'You seriously want to waste all that gas? It's a big detour.'

'It's not a waste! Come on Dean, think about it. We can go home, sleep in our own beds, with our own girls, fresh clothing and be completely refreshed when we get to Livingston. It's perfect!'

Dean shook his head as he was calculating the logistics in his head. It would take them a little over 26 hours if they kept driving constantly. They would have less than three days at home, since Livingstone would be another 30 hours or so.

'Fine,' he said, and oddly enough he was not looking forward to go back home. He wondered if his house would be empty. But as he had agreed to his little brother's request, Sam's face had lit up like a Christmas tree. In that instant he knew he made the right choice, how could he have denied something to someone he loved so much. He would remember Sam's gratitude when the shit hit the fan.

Sam gulped down his coffee and scoffed down hid food, he was ready to go in less than a minute. He wouldn't call Julie, he wanted to surprise her. Last thing she knew they were still working this job and no hopes of a reunion in the near future. Suddenly his mind was completely occupied with images of Julie. He started to calculate. She would be going into her seventh month. He was too curious to see how she looked. Hadn't he read somewhere that the last trimester would be the hardest? He couldn't wait to see the glow on her face and touch the objects of his affection.

'Slow down Sam, seriously you know I get cranky if I skip breakfast.' Dean said finishing up.

'This is your second plate Dean,' Sam scoffed, throwing money on the table and hurrying out the door like his pants were on fire he nearly hit his head on the doorpost which was just a little too low for Sam.

Dean shook his head with a smile as he hurried after Sam but not after he checked the bill. Sam had tipped the waitress over twenty bucks. Dean shrugged and checked his pockets, Sam had snaked his keys, he swore internally as he hurried now since Sam was completely able to leave him stranded in the middle of nowhere.

'Got to hand it to you kid,' Dean said as he ducked in the passenger's seat, 'you are good. Stealing my keys is nearly impossible.'

'I learned from the best,' Sam answered meeting Dean's grin as he put on his sunglasses, turned up the music and skidded off at a speed even Dean wouldn't use in close populated areas.

* * *

Lena had been in her car for about an hour and she was already getting bored. She suddenly missed the stuffy books she had come to hate. Her mind started to wonder from Jamiroquai to Mr. Krip, or did he wanted her to call him Erik? She couldn't remember. She laughed at his innuendos, she wondered if he'd still be hitting on her. She guessed not.

She changed the CD into a soundtrack one. The classical score of Lord of the Rings calmed her a bit.

She saw the road winding over and over again, scenery changed from woods, to buildings to woods again. Long stretches of highway with hardly any car in sight. After six hours she could no longer hold it and she decided to pull into a dinner's parking lot. Immediately she turned heads but she was used to small town folks checking her car so she didn't pay much attention. She ran to the bathroom as fast as possible without looking like a complete fool. After she had gotten herself a booth and a veggie burger she figured there would still be three more hours of daylight and she might get halfway if she kept going. So that's what she did, she finished her food and downed her diet coke.

An then the unavoidable happened, the locals were always curious about Lena. She did not only not fit in, she kept to herself but she didn't look dangerous so it never stopped anyone from walking up.

'Here you go,' the pretty waitress said.

'I didn't order that,' Lena replied looking up a bit confused.

'I know, it's on the house. Trust me our blueberry pie is the best in the state,' she added cheerfully.

Lena smiled, she hadn't had pie since… well a long time ago.

'Well thanks,'

'You new in town?' the waitress continued like giving pie was a free pass to details.

'No, just passing through, sorry.' Lena said smiling politely.

The waitress darted off as she understood Lena was in no mood to talk. After the pie Lena hastily returned to her car and drove it back onto the interstate, listening to People in Planes.

_I am the last man stand survivor  
I'll be the last man home.  
I'll be the last man stand survivor  
I'll be the last man home._

_You're all alone sitting in the corner,  
You've got a killer stare.  
Who's messing round with you in the corner?  
He better say his prayers._

* * *

'So what the hell am I supposed to tell Angela?' Dean suddenly asked out of nowhere. Sam had known he was mulling around something because he hadn't commented on Sam's driving skills and they were already on the road for about four hours.

'I don't know, maybe the truth?' Sam replied tentatively.

'Yeah sure, so she can call me a lying nut and make a break for it.'

Sam just sighed: 'what about you ask yourself what you want. If Angela is the answer to your question, you come clean, if you're not sure don't even think about disrupting her world.'

'What if I'm not sure, yet,'

'Dean, be honest with me. It's just you and me here, tell the absolute truth; do you love Angela. And I mean the I-would-die-for-you, Romeo-and-Juliet, the let's-spend-the-rest-of-our-lives-staring-in-each-other's-eyes kind.'

Dean just stared at Sam frowning.

'You know what I mean, marriage, children and all that other crap. Do you see yourself old and happy with her?'

'No, no I don't,'

'See there's your answer,'

'Sam it's not her, I don't see myself married, or being a dad or even growing old,'

'What? Are you serious?'

'Of course!'

'Well you certainly changed your tune, just a couple of years ago you wanted to be a dad remember.'

'_You're thinking about having kids now? Last week you wanted Lena to shut up and get off your back.'__ Sam said and Dean smiled at the memory of his own rant in the woods, which eventually lead him to being dragged like a ragged-doll through the trees._

'_Sammy, we sit in the car for hours on end, there are many silences. Don't tell me it has never crossed your mind. You're getting married for Christ's sake.'_

'_Yeah, but that's just it, you've never talked about marriage, kids, settling down.'_

'_The truth Sam?'_

'_Yes please, we have come this far.'_

'_To be honest, I would like to be a dad someday and Lena would be a perfect mother. And then on the other hand it scares the crap out of me. I'd rather see three Liliths than becoming a father.'_

…

'_You have always been a father, since the age of four you have had the constant responsibility to look after someone. You changed more nappies than dad, you cooked more meals and you made sure on numerous occasions that I didn't die or went darkside. You've always been more than just a brother,' Sammy said with more honesty in his voice than Dean had heard in a long time._

Dean remembered the conversation and the moment he had uttered it in front of Lena he had internally laughed his ass off as she had almost chocked on her food. But things had changed so much since then and he had turned 180 on the subject. He knew that when he had children with the love of his life he would have two more targets for the bad guys to find. He would not survive and he was certain it would end in disaster. For him that door had closed when Lena walked out of his life, he had known the moment he had broken up with her that those options and that life were gone for good. He hadn't regretted it back than as he was damn sure that with the life he leads, solitude would be the best but he had to admit that after all this time he yearned for someone to share his entire life with and not just bits. He envied Sam but he also thought it was very stupid. He then realized that after Sam's baby was born he probably would quit hunting, this actually might be their last hunt. It took Dean a bit by surprise, he had figured that someday him or his brother would quit, or they would die, but the moment sneaked up on him. He thought Sam loved hunting too much to quit, like he did, but this baby-girl, or boy, might change exactly that.

'Yes,' Dean finally said, 'frankly I think it's stupid to have children in the world we live in, no offense,'

'None taken,' Sam replied doubtfully. Sam knew the dangers but was certain that he could pull his little family out of this supernatural world. At least he was going to give it a shot.

'Maybe I should try with Angela,' he said, looking out the window, more to himself than to Sam.

'Don't force yourself there big brother,' Sam said smiling as he playfully hit Dean in the gut, 'besides look at the bright side, the way you've been treating her she might even have left you already.'

'Shut up and watch the freaking road, you can't drive for shit you know. You should have shifted to fifth like minutes ago!' Dean yelled, 'pull over I'm hungry!'

* * *

Lena was exhausted when she finally reached her destination, she had made good time and was glad she could rest for a couple of hours before heading out to the meeting. She had stopped in Buffalo, Wyoming and had crashed in a sleezy motel but she was now surprised that Scary Stories Inc had put her up in the nicest hotel. She wasn't used to the bellboys and friendly receptionist.

'Hi I'd like to check in?' she asked insecurely like the woman would yell at her that she wasn't dressed appropriately.

'Sure what name please?'

'Uhm… I don't know, it might be under Dylan or under Scary Stories Inc, I don't exactly know how these things work,'

'That's okay, we'll figure it out,' the receptionist said patiently adding a little smile as she started typing, 'wait a minute, Lena Dylan? The Lena Dylan?' you could almost see the light bulb going on above the girl's head

'I'm sure there is more than one Lena Dylan,'

'The writer?' she asked.

'Uhm, maybe,' Lena said blushing red.

'Oh my,' she said trying to stay professional, 'well let's see, ah here it is. Lena Dylan, room 305.'

The girl took one of the plastic cards that was lying next to the computer and ran it through a machine.

'Here you go, the person who made the reservation wanted you to order any kind of roomservice and they left this number for you to call if you need anything.' She said putting the card key and the business card in front of Lena.

'Well thanks,' she said grabbing both.

'May I suggest you order the Swedish massage, our professionals on staff are really good,' the receptionist said.

Lena smiled at the idea of getting a massage after sleeping on Bobby's couch/table/bed/porch.

'I might just take you up on that offer,' she winked.

'Wait here for a minute,' the girl added suddenly, her eyes scanning the reception hall before ducking into the office behind her.

When she came back she had two books in her hand.

'Do you mind signing these?' she asked so sweet and innocently that Lena agreed easily.

'Sure, who do I make these out to?'

'To Karen,'

_Dear Karen, thank you for making my visit extremely pleasant hopefully we'll meet again someday._

'You always got my books on hand like this?' Lena inquired curiously.

'Well a friend of mine recommended _Roots_ and ever since I carry it as my bible and I am just finishing the latest book, only a few more chapters to go,' she said smiling eagerly.

'Oh well I hope you enjoy those last pages, make them last because it might be a while before anything new comes out.'

'What? Why?'

'I'll find out tonight I guess,' Lena answered putting the cap back on the pen she used, 'here you go, don't lose them I have only signed a couple in my life.'

'Really?' Karen just beamed, 'thank you so much and I hope you get some answers tonight.'

'Yeah, me too, bye,'

Lena left Karen who was absolutely thrilled, nothing ever happened in this little city and now she got her books autographed.

Lena was happy that such a tiny gesture pleased her so much. She went to her room and saw that her bags were already on the bed. She went to lie down next to them and pondered whether or not to get the massage but before her mind had chosen she had already fallen in a deep and soothing sleep.

* * *

As Dean had suspected he came home to an empty house, clean but empty. He felt like shit that Angela had tidied his things while their future was so uncertain. He threw his bag in the corner next to the coat rack like he always did and went to his kitchen. Maybe a home-made dinner would cheer him up, he decided to call Angela too.

'Hey Angela, it's Dean,'

'Oh, hi,' she returned, already hearing the tone in his voice that something was up.

'You want to come over for dinner?' he asked cautiously.

'Yeah sure, I have the graveyard shift though so early bird's dinner?' she replied.

'Great, I'll see you in a couple then?' still trying to get confirmation that everything between them was all right.

'Okay, see you then,' she said hanging up before Dean could add anything else.

Next problem on his list, cooking. He liked the standard American plate but he knew Angela loved Italian.

Spaghetti seemed the right answer to his problems, it was something he knew how to make thanks to Lena who had wanted to learn Dean the basic stuff so that whenever she wasn't around he wouldn't stuff himself with take-out. Unfortunately that's what he always did when she hadn't been around, he would take out the trash that same evening so Lena wouldn't find the evidence of his cholesterol-increase.

Opening the file his heart almost stopped as he saw Lena's handwritten recipes. His heart always stopped when he opened this map, he just couldn't get used to it and he cussed internally, frustrated with himself.

He found the tagliatelle recipe easily as Lena had once sorted them alphabetically. A few minutes later Dean was crying his eyes out, he was chopping the onions and he felt completely ridiculous. After the onions and the garlic he put the pot on a small fire and let it stir in some oil. After he stirred it a bit to long since smoke was already coming out of it he added the canned tomatoes, added the rosemary, pepper and salt, glad it was being used for something different than sealing windows and doors for a change. The final touch one big scoop of mascarpone and smoked salmon. He let it stew on a small fire since he hadn't put on a pot for the tagliatelle. He wondered how woman could do all the steps at the same time as he could only manage to focus his attention on one thing, definitely if fire or cooking was involved. He tasted the sauce and was honestly pleased with it.

He left everything on the stove as he went upstairs to change quickly into a clean shirt and looking in the mirror he was pleased that his eyes were no longer puffy from the crying.

Angela rang the bell not comfortable to use her key anymore.

Dean's heart jumped in his chest, he had no idea how the evening would evolve, he had made up his mind but had no idea how he or she was going to handle it.

'Hi,' he said with a smile as he opened the door, she looked absolutely ravishingly with a simple blue jeans and a chocolate brown sweater which hung loose from the one shoulder. He kissed her without thinking an she answered the kiss carefully, 'I'm glad you could make it. I'm only in town for a couple of days,'

Angela was surprised to hear this but followed him into the house as she put her things next to the coat rack. She suddenly noticed the huge difference, her cheap but stylish brown handbag and long coat next to his dirty, stuffed duffle and his old leather jacket. She shook her head and smiled a bit.

'God that smells good!' Angela said entering the kitchen as Dean put in the pasta and took the sauce off the stove.

'My famous tagliatelle,' he lied.

'God I didn't know you could actually use the stove in your kitchen.

'What did you think this was? Decorations?' Dean smirked.

Once the pasta was al dente both went to sit at the kitchen table and the joking evaporated and an uncomfortable silence came down on the couple. Angela decided Dean was too chicken to do it himself so she started the conversation that was bound to take place.

'So how was the conference?' She said cheerfully, a bit false even.

'You know there was no conference,' Dean said looking down at his plate.

'Yeah I do but you wont tell me where you really were so I thought I should go along with this charade.' She replied almost bitterly.

'Look Angela,' Dean took a deep breath, 'I can't tell you, it's for your own good, I swear,'

'Who are you to look out for my good? I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a grown woman and you don't get to decide what's good for me and what not,'

'I know, sorry, I didn't mean it that way. It's still the same though, I can't tell you.'

'What are you mafia or something?'

Dean smiled at the thought of himself in an Italian suit and hat with a rifle in his hands. Actually she wasn't far off as far as the image was concerned.

'No not really, I don't whack people,'

'So no going to the mattresses?'

'No mattresses, or fishes have anything to do with it,'

'What's the big deal? Djeez you guys can be so secretive, is it another woman? I mean we never said we were exclusive,' she added.

'Hey, what? No! No other women. Seriously, you need to trust me on this.'

Suddenly all the speculations and wonder cleared off Angela's face as she became deadly serious and said something she hadn't expected to say. She had hoped that what she was about to say wouldn't have been necessary.

'How do you expect me to trust you completely if you can't trust me?'

Dean looked up from his food and for the first time that evening, let his eyes bore deep into hers.

'I don't, that's why I invited you here. I wanted you to know that our time together was perfect and you're absolutely great. But this thing I do, disappearing for weeks wont stop and I don't expect or even want you to stay here and wait for me.'

There it was on the table, he finally had the courage to say that he thought this relationship wouldn't work, not if they couldn't fully trust each other, not if he couldn't share every tiny secret of his life. And he knew Angela had half a brain and wouldn't stay here like a feeble housewife having nothing on hand besides waiting for her man.

'Yeah, that's exactly what I thought,' she said to Dean's surprise, 'I hated these weeks when you were away and you couldn't say where you were, while Julie got every single detail from Sam.'

'She said that?'

'No I got it from her expression that she knew a hell lot more than she was telling. I didn't only feel inferior to her, I felt I was not worthy of your love or whatever. I never ever want to feel that again, Dean.' She said finding her anger back. 'One phonecall in what? Almost two weeks!'

'Oh God, I am so sorry Ange, seriously. It's just I couldn't call you to tell where I was or what I was doing so I thought it was better not to call.'

'Your logic is a bit twisted, Dean. I mean what about me? You couldn't spare me five minutes to tell me you were okay and maybe listen to my day? It's like being with an FBI-guy.' Suddenly it hit her, 'that's it right? You're FBI? Or CIA or CSI or whatever?'

Dean grinned and for a second considered to take the easy way out. If she thought he was FBI he would never have to tell her what or where, she would agree that it was top secret. It would be easy to pull off, he had been doing it for over a hundred times. But then he sighed, lying to keep a relationship healthy that he didn't even know he wanted to keep? No this was getting way too complicated. As honest as possible, that's what Sam had said right?

'No not exactly, but we do work with them from time to time and against them, from time to time,'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Look I can't tell you, but you mean too much to me to lie.' Dean told her.

'So what do we do now? We go our separate ways? You want to stay friends?'

'I haven't tried that before, but I'd really like it if you'd consider to be my friend.'

'You would?' she asked surprised, 'yes, I'd like that too.'

Angela sighed after a brief silence when both had processed the things that had been said.

'What's a matter?' Dean asked scooping up the last bit of sauce on his plate.

'Nothing, it's a bit embarrassing,'

'We're friends, you can tell me anything,' he smirked.

'I just really, really liked you,' she admitted.

'I really, really liked you too. But to be honest,' he paused, 'I don't see myself ever making that commitment with anyone. Once, I thought I could and actually would in a near future, but things got messed up and I accepted that I would never go down that road.'

Angela was surprised to hear that he never saw himself making that full commitment, she had figured it was her or this relationship but not him.

'Lena Dylan?' she asked.

'Yeah,' Dean coughed uncomfortably.

'What happened? Come on, you can tell me,' she said winking.

Dean smiled with a bit of effort since it was still a painful memory to him.

'She got hurt by what I do, I couldn't have that, so we broke up.'

'And where is she now?'

'I have no idea,' Dean admitted, 'we couldn't stay friends.'

* * *

Lena woke up with a startle as something noisy was going off in the room. Completely disoriented she reached for the sound. Noticing it wasn't an alarm clock but a phone she answered it.

'Hello?' she asked drowsily.

'Good evening Ms Dylan. We have just received a phone call from one Mr Krip. He asked us to tell you that he'll be here in thirty minutes and expects to have dinner with you.'

'Does he now?' Lena asked propping herself up against the large headboard, 'anything else, like a ballroom dress he bought for me to wear and maybe a script as what I need to say?'

Lena heard the receptionist hold back a laugh as she spoke.

'Well actually he did advice you to dress nicely,'

'Fine,' she grunted in reply, 'what time is it now?'

'Half past seven,'

'Thank you, Karen,'

'You're welcome,'

Lena put the receiver back on the phone and flipped open her cell. Two new messages.

One was Bobby, just checking in telling her that there was no more news. The next was from Mr Krip himself. _Dinner at eight,_ was all it said.

Lena was starting to feel like a little handpuppet, and she didn't like it one bit.

She opened her suitcase and quickly found what she was looking for; a dark denim jeans and a dark green satin halter top that closed with a bow around her neck. She took her hair out of the rubber band and let it flow loosely around her shoulders. She was happy that with the little action she had gotten over the past few weeks no bruises were visible. For once her entire body didn't ache after a hell of a fight or a hell lot of running away from something. She almost felt pretty but then noticed what Bobby was always going on about. She had become too skinny. The jeans and the satin top were a bit too loose to her taste. She shrugged and hastily put on her make-up. She kept it simple and with her deep green high heeled boots she felt she was as chic as he wanted and as comfortable as she wanted.

'Best of both worlds,' she said to herself in the mirror.

'Great now I am talking to myself,'

She looked at the clock and decided that she just had enough time to get her stuff together and have a smoke on the patio.

As Lena was having her cigarette out front of the hotel she looked at the town in front of her. She noticed it almost looked cozy, just small enough to know your neighbours, but not so small that inbreeding became an issue.

'Ms Dylan?' a deep voice asked from behind her.

Lena turned around and noticed a tall and handsome man standing in front of her.

'Mr Krip, hello,' she said her hand stretched to her boss.

Mr Krip took it eagerly and escorted her to a not so ostentatious car and she felt relieved that it wasn't a limo. Suddenly he stopped, like he just remembered something.

'Hey, in the books your lead drives a classic American muscle car, you don't write from experience do you?'

Lena smiled and nodded to where her car was parked.

'That beauty is yours?' he asked like a kid on Christmas morning.

'Yep, saw her being fixed up myself,' Lena said smiling as she remembered how she had gotten it and it nearly broke down every fifty miles, Dean had spent hours on fixing it while she watched and gave annoying instructions. He had finished it with a coat of scarlet red paint and an iPod-jack for her birthday.

'You mind if we take your car?'

'Not at all,' she said.

Lena walked over and opened the passenger's seat which made Mr Krip chuckle when he got in.

'Does the top come off?' he asked as soon as she got in herself.

'Of course, but I think it's a bit too cold.'

'Yeah you're right,' he said agreeing with her indisputable logic.

'By the way, this is still a business dinner right?'

'Of course,' he said not completely convinced, ''65 Mustang, it's honestly stunning,' he carried on, putting his attention back where it belonged, cars.

'I once owned a '62 Chevy Bel Air,'

'Really?' she said smirking a bit since they both knew her car was ten times as cool as that.

'What's a matter? It's chevy's best car,'

'Yeah sure, until 1959, where Impala overtook him easily,' she almost cried out.

'Yeah true, a friend of mine actually owns an Impala,' Lena's heart stopped for just a fraction of a second until she realized Impala was still being produced and lots of people have classic cars, ''73, really nice.'

''67 is Impala's best year. Everyone knows that.' She added jokingly, she actually believed it though.

'Make a left,' he replied changing the subject and Lena saw they were pulling up into a fancy restaurant but not so fancy that she felt out of place. Her stomach rumbled when they got out.

'Waw you must be hungry,' he remarked.

'Yeah, I guess I am,' Lena started calculating, oh right she had again forgotten about dinner, breakfast and lunch. Last thing she ate was that blueberry pie.

Mr Krip and Lena were seated in a peaceful booth at the back of the restaurant and as Lena took off her coat his face lit up.

'You look radiant tonight,' he said when he took his own seat.

'Thank you, so give it to me. You're not going to publish it right?'

' You like to dive in right away don't you? Let's just order our drinks first, you drink red?'

'Urm yeah sure thanks,'

He ordered the wine and asked the pretty waitress to give them another minute to order their food.

Most of the things on the menu were not accessible to Lena, another downside of small towns; they regarded vegetarians as strange and foreign beings.

'I'll just have the Caesar salad, thanks,' she said handing her menu back to the waitress.

'I'll have the steak, medium rare, thank you,'

'So what have you been up to, I hope all is well?'

'You can read that in my next book, if you publish it of course,' Lena said with a teasing smile, making Mr Krip laugh.

'You do this with all your clients?'

'What have dinner? Yeah sure, at one point or another, more often than not in a roadside diner though,'

'Why me then?'

'Because you fascinate me,' he replied plain and simple, 'last time you had things to do, now I knew you were available for the evening,'

'So this is a date then?'

'Well, maybe I'd like it to be but the choice is yours,'

'Look, I don't know how to say this and I am sure you are a great guy but I don't date,'

'What do you mean, _you don't date_? You're young and beautiful, don't tell me you got your heart broken once upon a time.'

'Sure who hasn't but that's not the point, I never stay in one place long enough to date,'

'Right, and why is that exactly?' he asked now leaning forward staring deep into her eyes, since he was convinced that she liked him.

'I chase stories, Mr Krip, you should know that,'

'Please, call me Erik, Lena,'

Suddenly Erik was interrupted by the sommelier who came to pour the wine.

Erik pretended to be a real connoisseur as he looked at the colour, and waltzed it around in his glass. He sniffed and finally took a sip, swishing it and at last swallowing. He complimented the wine as the sommelier poured two glasses. Lena could hardly bite back the laugh that was erupting in her chest. She knew maybe twenty people who would make fun of that charade.

To stop herself from laughing she swiftly took the glass and drank. Erik could see she wasn't especially impressed and he figured he was going about this all wrong. She needed a strong, secure man who could put her in her place and safe the world if necessary. He was going to change tactics.

'So where were we, you don't date. Let's just do sex than,' He said completely honest.

Lena almost chocked in her wine as he said that. But then considered it. It had been a couple of weeks, but she hadn't completed the hunt yet. The bartender back in Yellowstone had been an exception, sort of. He had been too damn cute to pass up.

'Sure, maybe, let's see how the evening goes,' she said remembering that there was an apocalypse hanging above their heads and well if this were her last few days on earth she could just as easily spend them on top of someone else.

'Haha, okay then,' Erik laughed, finally getting hopeful.

'So the manuscript, what's wrong?' Lena asked eating her salad.

'It's not finished,' he simply replied cutting his steak into small pieces, Lena found this very unattractive behaviour, cutting the meat into small pieces and leaving the knife, then scooping them as he were a child.

'What do you mean?' she said not angry, just inquisitively.

'Look I read it and found it very thrilling, until the end. It just felt as if some things are missing. It just felt like a first draft of what was maybe evolving into more. You know what I mean?'

'Yeah, I do know what you mean but I don't understand how I would be able to fix it.'

'Well, I called Astrid and she said the same thing about it. You should reread it and ask yourself why we both felt that way.'

'But it's not even an open ending. It's a finished hunt and the lead goes of to find something else,' Lena explained.

'It has nothing to do with the ending Lena, afterwards I just felt unsatisfied. As if something was missing.'

'If you're asking me to make a peaceful happy ending with marriage an kids...' Lena said but Erik interrupted her.

'Oh come on, give me some credit. I'm not asking a Hollywood ending, I'm asking a ending!' putting emphasis on the _a_.

'Okay fine, I'll look into it, I still don't know what you mean though,'

'That's because you don't have a distance to the work as Astrid and I have.'

'Yeah probably. Look I'll definitely look for the changes you deem so necessary. But what if I'm content the way it is?'

'Then we'll have another meeting and we'll go over the script together. Page by page.'

Lena sighed but nodded in agreement; 'sure why not,' chances of being alive in the next couple of weeks? Almost zero, I can just agree to do anything now.

'Can you promise me something?' she continued.

'Depends but go ahead,' Erik said curiously.

'If anything was to happen to me, can you make sure no one else rewrites the script or makes changes. Can you promise me that it'll come out the way it is, or throw it in the trash. I don't care. Just don't let anyone else muck around with it. Cause despite what you might think, what you are reading is a big part of my life. A lot of my soul and heart go into them.'

Erik was a bit taken aback by the request since he had no idea what might have brought this on but he promised her nonetheless.

'Yeah sure, that's not how we work at Scary Stories. Why such a request? Are you ill or something?' he asked stretching his hand across the table trying to reach hers but she put her hand in her hair, trying to be subtle and failing.

'No, no, don't worry,' she laughed nervously; 'just making sure.'

'You'd like some dessert?'

'Just a cappuccino please,' she directed to the waitress.

'Irish coffee please,' Erik ordered.

'So how long are you here for?' he asked trying to go from business to social in one swift move.

Lena huffed; 'no idea, I have to be in Livingston in three days so not very long.' She replied noting the difference in topic. 'Why aren't you married with five kids?'

'Good question. Because I haven't find her, yet.'

'Who do you mean by her?'

'You know the one,'

'You still believe in that?'

'You don't?'

'I think you can honestly fall in love multiple times.'

'Says the one who doesn't date, because off an ugly break-up years ago.' Auch, Erik definitely had her there.

'Fine, is that what it'll take to prove my point. We'll go on a date, a real one this time and not something you lured me into. We'd have fun and a couple of weeks of total bliss. Then I'll leave for whatever reason and we'd have to do long distance. Then it would be an open relationship and eventually we'd break up. So what's the point?'

'Pretty negative isn't it?'

'It's my life, it's how I am. I travel a lot. What do you want from me, anyway?' she finally blurted out.

'Maybe you're the one for me, you're extremely appealing, you're obviously intelligent and you have a mind of your own.'

'You seriously consider me marriage material? I have to be honest though, last time someone wanted children with me I had to excuse myself to go throw up in the bathroom. Look I'm just not that girl.'

Erik let the subject drop and they found back a light-hearted tone. Lena drove them back to the hotel and decided not to sleep with him. If the apocalypse somehow was stopped, she'd be very sorry she'd led this poor guy on. She hadn't realized before that his affection went much deeper than just the physical. It had caught her completely off guard. She was flattered but she was not interested in a relationship, with anyone for that matter. Maybe if Johnny Depp came knocking but for now she liked the solitude, her car, her life.

* * *

Dean was quite happy with how the evening turned out, he had a new friend, one who accepted his secrecy and wouldn't bug him for it. One who was beautiful and had a great sense of humour. Angela seemed happy as well, now that Dean had stopped lying. They had watched the beginning of Borat and had shared some laughs before Angela had to hurry to make her shift.

Dean was now lying on his bed, trying to fall asleep but since the Angela-matter had settled his mind had warped him back to the task at hand. So far four places had been hit, well as far they knew anyway. Burying people alive, setting criminals free, something about over-feeding said Bobby and killing off sick people. He felt there was a pattern that he just couldn't see and he felt like there were a lot more places holding the pieces of this strange puzzle without him knowing it. They needed these pieces if they were to find out what or who was behind it. And with those last thoughts his mind fell silent and he dozed off, not the dreamless sleep he had hoped but a violent dream. People screaming all over the place, being buried alive by their loved ones, criminals roaming the streets, but through all of the madness and the angst a face appeared completely out of place, making him even more anxious as Lena was present at every one of the horrible scenes that flashed before his closed lids. It scared him but somehow he preferred seeing her in these situations than not at all. When he woke in the morning, his bed sheets completely tangled around his waist and legs, he beat him up for that feeling. He hadn't dreamt about Lena is so long and whenever he did it was because he consciously brought her face to the foreground and those dreams didn't feel as real as it had now. He had seen her long chestnut hair swaying naturally around her and her eyes so kind like they had been before their break-up, not like the eyes he had seen at the wedding, those nearly belonged to stranger, hiding secrets he couldn't guess.

He shook his head when he sat up, looked at the stack of tattered books in the corner, an incomplete set. He hadn't dared reading any books by Lena Dylan after _Roots_, as he understood it there was no more Mr Wesson.

* * *

Lena was in luck. She had been shopping, something she hardly ever had time for but since she didn't have to be anywhere she figured a wardrobe-update might come in handy. She had been scouring the small town and had actually found some really nice things in one vintage shop. A dark deep green leather jacket that fitted her perfectly. She felt a bit too much like a biker-chick but didn't care because it did look hot on her. And on her way back to the hotel she had bumped into the tiniest occult shop. She knew that this town had gone through the new age wave like any other and was glad she could browse around in peace and quiet. She came across a very beautiful amulet, the card said protection against the Evil Eye, whatever that may be, but she knew this was a protection against ghouls. They wouldn't be able to transform in her as long as she was wearing it. She decided not to buy because if they killed her they could take it off her anyway, it was still pretty though. But then she came across something that indeed may come in handy some day.

"_Protection against the Dark Arts"_, the label said. She had seen this in one of Bobby's books and asked the shopkeeper where it came from, she knew that everything in Bobby's books was worth a fortune but those not in the know sold it at a tourist's rate.

'I don't know exactly,' the shopkeeper had to admit; 'most things you see here, I order from a catalogue, but that one I found at a yard sale once, there were two. I'm wearing the other one.' He explained hoisting it out from under his dress, yes the male shopkeeper was indeed wearing a long violet dress that almost reached the ground.

'And? Does it work?' Lena asked smiling.

'Haven't had any problem with the Dark Arts since,' he smiled teasing right back.

'I'll take it,' Lena decided, it wasn't as pretty as the other stuff, made in Korea, but she had a feeling this one might actually be real. She'd ask Bobby later what it really did.

The shopkeeper took the amulet as she passed it over the register and for a slight second their hand met.

'The apocalypse?' he asked her dumbfounded, stunning Lena just as much as she had him.

'What are you talking about,' she replied trying to get her face back to casual.

'Sorry, I'm psychic, you're a hunter right?'

'Euhm, I don't know, I've only been hunting for a little over two years. Does that make me a hunter?'

The shopkeeper didn't answer and just grabbed her hand again, he closed his eyes.

'Yeah you are, you have the analytic mind of a hunter, your thoughts are consumed by killing evil and your heart is pure,' he said shocking Lena even more.

'Are you a hunter?'

'Oh no, God no, had a crack at it once and nearly got killed. Banshees are nasty creatures, no I chose to have a family and pretend there's nothing lurking in the dark. I have to admit though when my daughter came downstairs complaining about monsters under her bed for the first time my heart nearly leaped out of my chest. But after I turned her room inside out she admitted that she just wanted to stay up a bit later.'

Lena smiled at this anecdote. She couldn't believe she found someone who chose not to hunt and actually ignore the bumps in the night and was fine with it.

'One thing baffles me though,'

'What?' Lena asked, her hand still in his.

'I see a great deal of creativity in your mind too,'

'Oh, I write too. Gotta pay the bills somehow. Lena Dylan's the name,'

'Oh well pleased to meet you Lena, I'm George. Can't say I have heard of you,'

'No problem, the pleasure is all mine,' Lena grinned.

'Say, you ever meet Pamela, she's a psychic too. The best if you ask me.'

'Unfortunately no,' Lena said embarrassed trying to hide the fact she knew the people who were there when she was killed, 'she died before I even heard of monsters.'

'Yes freak accident that was. So what is this nonsense about another apocalypse?'

'No nonsense I'm afraid. We still don't know what's doing it or who's behind it, and somehow time is not on our side.

'It can't be that bad, there hasn't even been a summit,' George huffed.

'Actually, the summit is the day after tomorrow.'

'Oh God, please tell me the Winchester are on this, and Bobby,'

'Yes, they're on it. Bobby was the one who figured it out. You know them?'

'Everybody does, haven't met them. That would be great. It's not because I refused to be in the biz that it doesn't interest me.'

'Yeah, I guess,'

'I better be off, need to be in Livingston in a couple of days,' Lena said, 'You are of course welcome to join me with your psychic expertise,' she added hopeful.

'Can't do that Lena, I made my decision a long, long time ago, I have a family who don't know and I'm not starting with lies and deceit now. But I have faith in you, take the amulet and this stone,' he said taking out a violet amethyst, it was beautiful and felt pretty heavy, 'it's on the house,' he continued.

'Oh I can't take that,'

'I might not participate actively but if I can help in some small way it'll make me sleep easier tonight. So your money is no good here.'

'Thank you so much, and in return we'll stop the apocalypse,' she said winking before she left the shop.

It was getting dark and Lena decided to have a quick bite to eat before going to bed for a short night. Planning to leave at the crack of dawn.

She waved Karen goodbye at mere 5am, as she was on the nightshift and flew into the night. Lena smiled a devilish grin as she suddenly realized that she'd see Dean soon and she wondered how he'll react? She laughed out loud like a crazy woman as she pictured Dean's smug smile disappearing from his face, going completely red in anger. She didn't know how she knew but she was quite certain that Dean would not approve. She hope Bobby would back her up though and if not Dean could still scream at her until he was blue in the face. He wasn't her father, lover, husband, brother not even friend. He had no say what so ever as far as she was concerned.

* * *

**Okay so yes Angela is out of the picture, I hope you don't mind.**

**Please comment, doesn't matter good or bad I can use all the criticism you got! It would be hugely appreciated!!!  
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	8. Chapter 8

**BIG AUTHOR'S NOT** **PLEASE READ**

**This chapter is not for children! I can't tell you why cause that would pretty much give the ending away but rated for strong language at the least.**

**I hope you all like it.**

**Again this chapter turned out different then I expected. Please tell me if it's rubbish.**

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Chapter 8: A Night to Remember

Lena arrived quite early at the little shack where the summit would take place. She saw Bobby's car and the boot was open. She sighed in relief; she hated going to a party by herself not knowing the attendees. She went over to help Bobby get the stack of books out of his trunk.

'Hey old man, need a hand?' she grinned as she snuck up on him.

Bobby dropped the books back in the trunk and turned around to give her a hug.

'Yeah sure,' he said, 'why don't you take that stack he said pointing at what were obviously the more heavy ones.

'Sure,' she said not commenting.

'So how was your meeting?' Bobby asked as they both walked up to the door.

'Meeting? It was more like a date if you ask me,' she scoffed; 'men can be so pushy sometimes. I did find out that my book is not finished. Well according to them anyway,' she said a bit angry.

'So what are you gonna do now?'

'Leave it until we fix this first. Got to get my priorities straight.'

Lena looked around as she dropped the books on the nearest table. The few customers this bar had looked strangely at Bobby, Lena and the weird things they were dragging in, but ignored it and returned to their food.

'You think it's appropriate to have these people in here right now?' Lena asked nodding towards them.

'We're not expecting anyone for at least another hour or so, they'll clear out soon enough.' Bobby grinned at an internal joke that Lena didn't understand.

She saw Ellen behind the bar and Lena's face lit up, she already felt more at home with another strong woman there.

'Hey Ellen,' she said cheerful walking behind the bar.

'Lena! It's so good to see you, unfortunate circumstances though,' she said dropping the dishrag on the counter and hugging Lena to pieces.

'Yeah I know,' she remarked.

'So you've been around and about with Bobby huh?' Ellen said, the first who didn't have this disapproving tone in her voice.

'Yep,'

'What did the boys say of this,'

Lena paused just long enough to convey to Ellen that they weren't exactly in the know.

'It's none of their business actually,' she said but the blush on her face betrayed her.

'Yeah sure,' Ellen said with a smile shaking her head, 'just gimme the head's up, so I can get a good seat in the crowd when Dean explodes.'

'Ha-ha very funny, Ellen. Where's Jo anyway?'

'Out and about, she thought this summit was rubbish and for old hunters, not the new generation,' she said.

'Oh,' was Lena's only response. She found it very strange that Jo would act that way but she hardly knew her. And everyone in the community knew that she had a mind of her own.

Lena decided to leave Ellen to her work, since she was tending a friend's bar who agreed to lend it for the evening. She went back over to Bobby who was already planning how to divide the group and put them to work, not even knowing who'd show up and who wouldn't.

'Need any help?' Lena asked bending over the table peering at Bobby's work.

'No thanks, say where did you get that?' he asked as he saw the amulet dangling from her neck.

'Oh, you like? Found it in this little occult shop, very nice man named George sold it to me.'

'George?'

'Yeah he's a psychic, that's why he knew about the supernatural world,'

'And you didn't think bringing him would be useful?' Bobby scolded.

'Hey watch that tone, of course I did. But he didn't want to, he had said _no_ to this life a long time ago and he had a happy little family. He spoke highly of you and the Winchesters though, oh and Pamela.'

'Waw, ignoring the bumps in the night. Something you don't hear all that often,' Bobby commented almost under his breath as he stared in front of him.

'So what do you think it does?' Lena asked, shaking Bobby from his thoughts.

'What?'

'The amulet silly!'

'Oh right, let me see.'

Lena handed him the amulet and waited expectantly.

'Hmm,' he grunted before adding, 'well it's not fake. It's actually pretty powerful, warding off curses, hexbags and any kind of witchcraft.' He explained handing it back to her.

'Can you believe he wouldn't let me pay for it!'

Bobby just nodded thinking women can get away with just about anything, as long as they smiled.

Lena grabbed some of the books in front of Bobby and positioned herself at the bar all the way to the end.

'Can I get you a drink?' Ellen asked while setting up for the gathering.

'Oh God, I'd kill for a martini right about now.'

'Coming right up,' Ellen smiled.

As she returned she couldn't help herself but say; 'liquid courage huh? Can't face the Winchesters without it?'

'Funny, again,' Lena replied not amused.

She suddenly hit her forehead as she thought of something she should've done a long time ago. She took out a map from her bag and unfolded it onto the bar.

First place for her and Bobby was, Yellowstone, Wyoming. Dean and Sam went to LaCrosse, Saint-Louis – Lena shuddered again as she remembered the people being buried alive – and Lufkin in Texas. She marked all the places on the map but failed to see a pattern. So far it looked extremely random. She took a pencil and tried to draw some lines but failed and erased them each time. She folded the map again and went back to her list of motives; people thinking they're doing good but actually killing. She took a book and started to read again, things she had already read and things that were new but none that fitted what she was searching for.

The bar was getting crowded and the few real customers started to back out since the new lot looked like a very diverse group of people. Older men in caps and lumberjack shirts, like Bobby himself. Younger men who were broad shouldered and maybe had a beer too many by the sight of their paunch wearing leather. Actually there was a hole gang that looked like they could scare the crap out of Hell's Angels. Then the average human being started to come in alone. A woman around Ellen's age greeted her and apologized for the fax she sent, Lena assumed it was Amy Brown. A man as tall as Sam walked in with skinny jeans and a fitted leather jacket, Lena was impressed and of course Rufus walked in as well, obviously not in the mood to talk to anyone except Bobby. She watched the two men bicker like… well like two grumpy old men, and though they had nothing but foul things to say to each other it was obvious that when in doubt or danger call the other. For some reason these two men trusted each other more than their differences could tear them apart.

Lena felt a bit lonely on her barstool hunched over a book. Not because of the lack of attention because those in the bar knew who she was gossiped with old acquaintances about her being Dean's ex. Those who didn't know of her were all too happy to come and find out. But word of her arranging this summit spread like wildfire and everyone was trying to find out what it was about. Lena got lucky when she overheard a conversation nearby between one of the biker guys and the tall gay man.

'I think I know what this is about, last week I was out in Texas, Kermit. It was something I had never experienced,' the gay man told the biker who was hanging on every word he spoke.

'What, what happened?'

'Some woman had taken in all the homeless people from the streets, and crammed them in her small house. It was unbelievable, one breathed on the window and wrote _help us_ in the mist. I got wind of it when the papers had reported some homeless men missing, they assumed they died on the streets but an eyewitness swore she saw some social worker kidnap this men. Hansel and Gretel style if you know what I mean,' he said trying to increase the suspense.

'What did you do?'

'Once the social worker was out I tried to open the door but it was shut tight. Magical lock-down I think,' he explained, 'got a call from Amy and came here straight away. And I was very glad to escape cause that town gave me the creeps!'

Lena thought about the story and took a leap of faith and marked Kermit, Texas. She started to see something on the map, finally. She came off her stool and started to roam the bar, asking if anyone had been at the Grand Canyon lately or in Bismarck, North Dakota. She was having not much luck until she came across an older man with long black hair tied back, native-American Lena guessed, he was sporting a simple jeans and a white shirt.

'Yeah sure, I live there,' he said hearing Lena inquire about anyone having been to Arizona lately, 'what about it?'

'I think that place might be hit too,' Lena said nervously not able to explain where she got the idea.

'Hit with what exactly?' the man asked as he towered over her to put emphasis on his disbelief.

'I don't know, people thinking they're doing good but actually killing other people?' she said her voice rising at the end of a sentence.

'Oh no, nothing going on there, still peacefully silent,' he said turning his attention back to the conversation he was having before Lena interrupted. As the man laughed with something someone else said about her, she cringed away like she was an unwanted bug that caused a lot of uproar without it being necessary. But before she went back to her stool her eye caught the back of the native-American's neck. She smiled at herself as her feelings were right on the spot. It was difficult to make out with his hair in the way but it was definitely there; a bulging red spot.

Lena went back to her map and crossed off Arizona as well. She grabbed two books and the map as she hurried out of the door to her car.

* * *

'See! This is why I didn't want us to go home!' Dean yelled at Sam who just had the biggest grin on his face, 'now we're extremely late!'

Dean had to grab Sam by the back of his collar to tear him away from Julie, who was looking bigger every time they saw her. She was struggling a bit with the stress of Sam being away now and the last trimester was really getting to her.

Sam didn't exactly care about Dean's yelling, he had felt his babygirl kick. He had had his head and hands against Julie's swollen belly for the whole of two days and was therefore in complete and utter bliss.

'Shut up,' he just said and Dean did but only after he had muttered _bitch_ under his breath.

Dean and Sam arrived only after all the others were there already, but they weren't necessarily late. Dean was still bugging Sam who said nothing and kept walking silently next to his brother, therefore the both of them didn't notice the red Mustang skidding off the lot behind them.

'Finally you idjits made it!' Bobby said jokingly as he shook hands and padded backs with the both of them.

'Good to see you too, old man,' Dean replied, 'good turn-out,' he added scanning the crowd.'

'Yeah you better get up there and start this thing,' Bobby said.

'What? You arranged it why don't you do it?'

'Don't be an idiot and get up there.'

'Fine,' he muttered as Sam had trouble biting back his laughter, he knew how Dean felt about speaking to great groups of people.

Dean gave Ellen a quick kiss on the cheek before he jumped up on the bar.

'Do the Coyote Ugly!' one woman yelled.

'Nice to see you too Amy,' Dean replied grinning.

'Ladies and gentlemen, those of you who have no idea what's going on here and what we're talking about, please leave, you don't have to pay the tab for tonight.' He said making sure all civilians would now be out the door and sure enough he saw two backpackers get up and leave, taking the advantage of their free meal, and another drunk stumbled towards the door, also extremely happy that they forfeited his bill.

'I am very pleased to welcome very familiar and some new faces, though the circumstances are grim it's good to see some of you are still alive. So now those of you who have a problem with following my lead can leave now too.'

Suddenly the entire bar, including Bobby and Sam, made way for the door, shaking their heads.

'Bobby?' Dean asked.

'Sorry kid,'

'Okay sorry, come back please, let's make it a group effort.' Dean apologized for his smugness.

Most of the people returned to their drinks and Dean saw Sam snicker in the back.

'Okay so like some of you might know, strange things are happening all over the country. It was our very own Bobby Singer who figured out the pattern and the signs we should be looking for.'

Dean explained briefly what the lot of them have gone through the past several weeks and why the different locations might be connected. Some people gasped as Dean told the stories, others were just stunned.

'As I believe Bobby has made little groups. We'll be staging five groups of minimum three and max five people, at every place that has been known to be affected and after Johnny's telling of Kermit, Texas we're pretty sure it's linked.' Dean said nodding at Johnny, 'those of you who will stay here at the headquarters will be gathering information from books and from the people on location. Maybe some of you can find a pattern or what is behind all this. Please go to Bobby and let him know what position you'd like and let's get this show on the road as fast as possible,' he added.

'Where are your angels pall?' someone in the crowd yelled above the tumult that had erupted after Dean's speech.

'Good question, they're keeping an eye on things but wouldn't interfere,' yelled Bobby before Dean could answer.

Dean jumped of the bar and saw that Bobby was currently swamped with people hovering over him trying to get a spot nearby their hometowns.

Ellen planted a beer in front of him and smiled.

'Thanks Ellen,' he replied, 'you staying here I guess?'

'Yep, nowhere else to go,' she said a bit sadly.

Dean chose not to reply and after Bobby was done with assigning tasks and hunters were packing up and leaving, he went over to taunt him.

'So where's that kick-ass huntress you seem to be falling for. Can I call her mommy yet?'

Bobby just grinned and said; 'you'll be sorry you said that,' he replied, 'she's at the bar, you haven't seen her yet?'

Dean looked over and saw only Ellen pouring drinks for those who were staying.

'What Ellen? Hmm… okay great she's a fine woman. Didn't know you'd be taking her on hunts though, you never did before,'

'What? No! Not Ellen,' Bobby replied now peering at the bar as well. Looking at the empty barstool some notes and an empty martini glass, 'shit! She found something! She wouldn't have left otherwise.'

Bobby whipped out his cell and saw five missed calls, all from Lena.

'What's going on Bobby,' Dean asked as Sam too had become intrigued by the sudden panic in Bobby's voice.

'Pick up, come one,' Bobby said to no one.

* * *

'Finally,' Lena said as her phone went. She had tried Bobby's five times already without a reply. She knew he would be angry for going off alone but even he wouldn't be able to deny that it was the best thing to do. She'd tried to call and bring him up-to-date but he hadn't picked up.

'Bobby! Finally!' she yelled relieved.

'Lena where are you?' he screamed.

Dean's heart leaped out of his chest, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lena was the kick-ass huntress working with Bobby? He started hyperventilating at the thought of Lena going off alone. Sam rushed to his side and brought him back up as he had almost doubled completely grasping a table.

'Come on Dean, just breath, slow and easy.'

'How could you!' he yelled towards Bobby but he just listened to what Lena had to say.

'Look Bobby, I think I found the pattern. It's a heptangular. All the works of Mercy turned to extreme. Feed the Hungry, Shelter the Homeless, Bury the Dead, Visit the Sick,… Arizona was hit too, I saw the mark on the burly native guy, you know who I mean? I'm betting my life's savings that North Dakota is next. Bobby,' she said hesitantly, 'I think it's Pandora's Box,'

'Shit! How did I not see this!' Bobby said, 'You're right. Pandora's Box, someone is trying to open it again!'

'Hasn't it opened already?' Lena asked.

'No! It has to be done tomorrow at the full moon. Where are you headed now?'

'I was going to try and stop whatever is going on in Bismarck, North-Dakota.'

'No, stop you can't. If we're right it's too late for Bismarck, all the places were hit simultaneously but we didn't see it.'

'What do I do then?'

'Return here, there's nothing we can do,' Bobby said.

'Yeah the hell I am come on Bobby, where's the box and how do I destroy it?'

Bobby's hope swelled just a bit as he heard her so resolute; 'okay hold on,' he ran back to his table with all the books, grabbed a map and hastily marked all the places, he pressed the phone between his ear and chin but Dean was quicker and snatched it from Bobby, he didn't even look up as he drew the lines of the heptangular.

'Lena?' Dean asked angrily.

'Who's this?' she asked not recognizing this angry voice.

'Dean! Who else!'

'Oh hi,' she replied not exactly knowing what one says in these kind of situations.

'Stop what you're doing, go home! You're not a hunter!' this last bit hurt Lena but she didn't show it, 'What do you think you're doing?! You could get hurt!' Dean added almost desperately.

'I've been hurt plenty of times Dean, no need to worry. I'm fine! Put Bobby back on.'

'What has gotten into you!' He asked.

'Dean I know you don't like hearing this but I've been doing this for, I don't know over two years and a half. You might not believe this but apparently I know what I'm doing,' Lena tried to explain as she had gotten out of her car beside the road waiting for instructions from Bobby.

Back in the headquarters Rufus had joined Bobby the minute he heard Pandora's Box. They were now talking amongst themselves in quiet voices.

'Lena, listen to me just this once, I can't have you on the field, you can do research back here,'

'Shut it Dean, you're not my father nor my guardian, you're nothing,' she said astounded by her own words. It took Dean a minute to recover.

'Fine then, get yourself killed!' he replied bitterly.

Bobby yanked the phone away from Dean and spoke into the receiver to Lena and to Dean.

'Can you two please safe the pissing contest for later, you both know that you don't mean those nasty things!'

Dean muttered something under his breath which sounded a lot like; 'yeah let's just see about that.'

'Okay Lena, Rufus and I believe the box will be at the tri-state point of Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas. There's a field right outside of Burlington, that's our best guess. Dead centre of the heptangular.' Bobby said with a sense of urgency, 'you better get there quick girly. We'll keep you posted and send you the exact coordinates.'

'Thanks Bobby and tell Dean I'm sorry,'

'Sure. Good luck girly,' he said in his paternal voice.

Lena and Bobby hung up at the same time. Lena turned her car and started calculating, it'll be twelve hours before she'd get there, she felt the panic in her bones.

* * *

Sam's phone started ringing frantically, he saw it was Julz.

'Hey hun, we got here a couple of hours ago, it's Pandora's Box, no, no we're on it. You wouldn't believe who's here,' Sam said excitedly but Julie obviously interrupted.

'What?' Sam suddenly yelled and hung up the phone. His face completely bewildered he turned to Dean and Bobby.

'Julie went into labour,' he explained, 'it's too soon,' Sam added with a panicky voice.

'Take my car,' Bobby said throwing the keys to Sam. Sam took them and hurried out the door, leaving Dean even more stunned; 'I'm going to be an uncle,' he said quietly marvelling at the words but he pulled himself together and turned his mind back to the matters at hand. He had liked to be there with the birth of his first cousin though.

'Bobby, how could you let her do this?'

'You want to have this conversation now?' he asked sceptically, 'if you leave now you'll probably catch up with her in Buffalo. She said she's sorry.'

'Yeah, right, she's not sorry. She meant it.' Dean muttered spitefully.

'So you're not going after her?'

'Of course, I will,' Dean said matter-of-factly.

Dean's face changed from disbelief to determination, if he'd see her on the road he was sure that he could convince her to stop and turn back here while he finished the job. He hurried off and raced out of the parking lot.

* * *

Lena had been peering out of her rear-view mirror since she turned her car around. How convenient that she had been going the wrong way, now Dean was surely on his way.

'Keep your head straight, stupid woman,' she said glancing at herself in the mirror. But she couldn't take her own advice she had been driving a lot these last few days and her back was actually starting to ache, she was seriously sleep-deprived and her eyes were becoming heavy.

'I can't stop now!' she said her voice tense. She started calculating, full moon would rise at about six thirty, and she still had a long way to go.

Dean was going through all the possible scenes of how this night mind end. He didn't know as much as he would've liked about this Pandora's Box. He knew the lore of course. A box sealed, containing evil, but that was about it. He took out his phone and called Bobby.

'Bobby, you found something useful on destroying the box?' he asked with a little more volume than was necessary.

'Yeah well, we found that it can't be destroyed.' Bobby admitted.

'What do you mean? How are we supposed to stop the apocalypse then?'

'We're working on it,'

'You seen Lena yet?'

'No I'm an hour outside Buffalo, won't surprise me if she passed it already though. Nah probably not, she needs to eat anyway,'

Dean's last remark triggered something with Bobby as he visualized Lena.

'Say Bobby, can you text le her phone number,'

'Yeah sure,' Bobby replied absent-mindedly.

Dean thought nothing of the lack of response and ended the call.

'Lena? It's Bobby. Where are you?'

'I'm just about to drive through Kaycee,' she said yawning, 'why?'

'Stop in Kaycee and eat something, wait for Dean?'

'What? Why?'

'Cause this'll go a lot faster and easier if you two work together, that's why!'

'Yeah you're right, I see a little diner up ahead, I'll wait for him,' she said calmly, surprising Bobby, 'tell him I'll be in the Hog's Head,' she finished peering at the neon sign.

'What the Hell, who calls his establishment Hog's Head,' she went on.

Bobby laughed; 'yeah beats me,'

'You found anything yet?'

'No hun and if I know you will okay, stop badgering me. Rufus, Ellen and I are on it.'

* * *

Only a half hour later Dean turned into the Hog's Head parking lot and his heart jumped, for the first time in a long time he was so near her, and the thought he'll even be able to have a conversation with her drowned all the anger that had resided in him since she called him nothing. He didn't care she was hunting anymore, as long as he would be able to keep an eye out his mind would settle down. 'But what if it ended like before, would I be able to handle her getting hurt again?' he thought to himself, that retching feeling coming back to his stomach. His head said that he would be fine with Lena getting hurt, as long as she lived this would be fine, he kept repeating it in his head like a mantra but the moment he spotted the red Mustang he had so adored his heart said he would be sick again if she got hurt.

He walked in and spotted her at the back, her long brown wavy curls obscuring her face as she had fallen asleep on her crossed arms and an old book, her food untouched. He was happy he would be able to gather his thoughts for just one minute longer as he stood beside the table looking at the face he knew so well. God it had been way too long since he had seen this face. It didn't seem much different except for the slight changes. There was no radiant smile there, her eyes were a bit puffy and red, her skin had lost some colour and was now pretty fair, her cheeks no longer seemed pink and healthy but skinny instead. All in all Dean saw the changes but just hearing her breathe and seeing there were no broken bones or even bruises he was elated. The anxiety subsided and like he would have done so many years ago; he used his index finger to clear her face from the hair that had fallen around it but the light touch alarmed Lena immediately and she shot up grabbing Dean's wrist and turning it behind his back. While Dean had difficulty to keep the pain out of his eyes, face and voice, he muttered; 'nice to see you too,' She would not know that this really hurt.

'God, Dean you startled me,' she said releasing him the moment his smile hit her eye.

'You're quick, I'll give you that. But what were you planning on doing next?' he asked testing her.

'There's no next, I had you pinned, if you were a demon I would have known because of this,' she said pointing out a ring, 'soaked in salt it would have seared in your flesh,' she explained simply. 'I know it doesn't do much but it's a useful indicator,'

Lena avoided looking into his eyes as she started tearing a napkin nervously. 'Once I knew you were human, well, like I said; I had you pinned,'

Her eyes went up just a bit so she could see his reaction. But once they started travelling up from the table, they became greedy and needed to see him entirely, his whole face, the expression in his eyes, the position of his eyebrows, which always gave away how he was really feeling. To her surprise she saw, well, surprise.

'That's pretty cool,' he admitted, 'that ring,'

'Oh yeah, it's comes in handy, whenever I shake someone's hand I know who's kosher and who's not.'

They stared at each other for a moment and the food Dean had ordered before he startled Lena had come but neither of them looked away. It was like they were having a silent conversation. Lena saw the disapproving look in Dean's face but also the astonishment at her own resourcefulness. He saw she was tired and easily to be convinced to go back to Livingston but that she didn't want to. She did not want a fight, she just wanted a sort of acceptance from him, even though she had said he was nothing to her, he could now easily see the pleading in her eyes to just let her be.

So without a word they agreed that they would finish this job and if they were still alive by tomorrow and they were both well rested they'd discuss this how they used too, meaning verbally fighting until the matter was resolved. Dean shrugged and started eating.

Lena pushed her dish aside and patiently sipped her diet coke, going through the book yet again while Dean finished his food without a word.

* * *

'Yeah Bobby?' Lena asked now only an hour away from the tri-state point.

'I think I found something I wanted to hear your thoughts,' Bobby said, 'so hold on a second,'

Lena was surprised that a music tune was now pouring into her car instead of Bobby's voice, it clicked and she heard Bobby again.

'Lena you still there?'

'Yeah, what's going on?'

'Dean?' Bobby asked.

'I'm here,' Dean said as Lena's heart thudded a little.

'Good so now I got both of you, God I love technology,' Bobby said feeling accomplished that he had finally figured out how to call two people at once.

'Okay so, Pandora's Box. From what we could decipher out of Greek mythology, it opens every thirty years or so. And we know that it doesn't necessarily mean apocalypse, unless opened by the wrong hands.'

'When was it opened last?' Lena interjected curiously.

'We figure it had to be the end of the sixties, therefore the seventies were a very pleasant time. But before that we're guessing the late thirties in Europe.'

'World War two,' Dean said.

'Yes, probably and before that,'

'World War One,' Lena said finishing Bobby's sentence.

'How does the box keep moving? And how does it touch these other cities before it is opened?'

'Well, we have a theory but we don't know for sure. As for the Box changing locations we don't know how but we think the Box doesn't want to be found and therefore it changes locals.'

'It wants to stay hidden while it can produce mayhem?' Lena asked incredulously.

'Look one thing we do know for sure, it's not evil. It can be used for evil means but for good just as well. Pandora was bearer of all gifts, not just evil ones. She was according to the Greeks the first woman Zeus made. She was turned evil later on by men, much like Mary Magdalene. Both strong powerful women, men couldn't bare standing in the shadow next to them.'

Lena huffed and Dean smiled inwardly.

'The cities that have been hit were probably portals,' Bobby continued, 'and by the nature of the actions we can be pretty sure that evil wants to open it tonight.'

'So how do we stop it?' Dean asked getting anxious.

'You have to get there first, you have to open it,'

'Me? Why do you think that'll work?' Dean asked.

'No, I mean the both of you. There are two things that can open Pandora's Box, true evil or true love,'

'Oh come on Bobby,' both Dean and Lena yelled, 'you have got to be kidding me!'

'We broke up remember,' Lena said sternly.

'Yeah but not because you stopped loving each other.'

'Isn't there someone else?'

'Everyone I know was here tonight and they're too far out now, you have to do it.' Bobby said.

'What if it doesn't work Bobby?'

'Then we'll better get underground cause we have chemical weapons now, a World War now would mean total destruction of the planet.'

'Oh well no pressure then,' Dean added sarcastically. 'Oh and Bobby any word on Julie?'

'What? What happened to Julie? She alright? The baby?' Lena started questioning.

'Yeah Sam called about an hour ago, both Julie and the baby are fine, he was delivered by c-section.'

'Oh my god!' Lena yelled in joy.

'He?' Dean asked laughing with the good news.

'Yeah, it's a boy, guess Sam was wrong huh,'

'They pick out a name yet?' Lena asked.

'Nope, Sam was so sure it'd be a girl they hadn't thought of boys names,'

The atmosphere in both cars and the bar suddenly changed when they hung up, they let the good news swallow them for just one second before thinking back to the task at hand, or rather prevent total catastrophe. Now both Lena and Dean were more convinced than ever they had to stop this because nothing in this wide world should be able to even touch this little innocent child, this little Winchester. A boy who would not carry on the legacy of his father, grandfather and uncle.

Dean suddenly wished feverishly that Julie and Sam were here, or Chris and Katie, or Andy and Christina, any one of these three couples had a better track record than Lena and Dean. Did he still love her? He honestly couldn't answer that, it had been so long. He had been with someone else, no doubt in his mind told him she had been too. But still there was this connection, something he could not explain, only the vision of her resting her eyes in that diner brought back memories he thought he had stocked away forever. Just hearing her made him question his own decision so long ago. Lena's thoughts went the same direction as they neared the tri-state point.

* * *

Both Lena and Dean got out of their cars quickly as twilight fell around them. Lena checked the GPS and directed North.

'Congratulations,' she said with a smile that could've blown any man away since it was so utterly genuine, Dean could do nothing else but stammer a quick thank you. They ran next to each other quietly and after a couple of minutes they saw what they were after; a small but impressive nonetheless wooden box. It seemed to have passed through ages and ages of time, made out of wood with carvings the both didn't understand. Lena quickened her pace and nearly reached it but suddenly Dean yelled.

'No! Look out!' he jumped towards Lena and before she realized it they were both on the ground. Dean groaned with pain but got up to his feet quickly and Lena saw the spear that had grazed Dean. They were at a standstill, Dean glowering, almost with feral noises that had awoken deep within as he saw an attack on her, Lena now being able to make up the shape of a man in the dim light and a smiling, good looking man in the prime of his life.

'Oh how sweet, true love again here to stop me,' the man said absolutely gleaming with joy. But the fact remained Lena and Dean were closer to the box.

'Or wait, this isn't true love, this is funny,' the man continued sizing up the pair, 'this is just lust and infatuation, good heavens.'

'You've been wrong before,' Dean said.

'Oh yes, the seventies, sorry bout that, didn't mean to cause overpopulation although it is fun to see rats being closed up together and just let them finish each other off.' The man grinned scratching his head as if it were a real apology.

'We will stop you,' Dean said confidently.

'You and what army, lover,' he said, 'look I'll admit you have something, you show the same qualities as that woman who was here thirty years ago, Mary Campbell, wonder whatever happened to them. Probably got loads of kids thanks to their influence with the box.'

Both Dean and Lena's eyes went wide as they heard the mention of Mary. It was his mother that had stopped the apocalypse?

'The idiot man she brought never knew what was going on, it was kind of funny to watch,'

'You watch your mouth,' Dean gnarled, Lena saw how Dean's fists had balled as if he was yearning for a fight, 'that's my father you're talking about.'

'Seriously? Well doesn't mean you and this little whore can thwart me tonight, I am Ares,'

Dean wanted to interrupt but Lena was first; 'the God of mayhem,' she said flatly.

'Do not call her a whore!' Dean said trying very hard to contain his anger.

'Why not? Spending not two nights in a row with the same man is a whore to me, if she'd lived in my time she'd be stoned to death!' Ares said with so much disgust that Lena could only feel ashamed and dirty. Dean's eyes too went cold for a sec but he recovered quickly.

'Well this is our time,' Dean said quietly he grabbed Lena's hand and without another word they understood each other Lena dived for the box holding Dean's hand still as she opened it. It was so easy she hardly believed it herself, she felt a pain somewhere and a strong yell of anguish but before she realized what both meant, an energy force escaped from the box and blew both Dean and Lena, hand in hand, backwards, a blue circle spreading wide like a nuclear bomb. Lena marvelled at the pictures filling her head. Skinny dipping in the Colorado river with Dean, standing on the glass platform of the Grand Canyon, Dean tugging on her hand while she was mesmerized by paintings in the NY Guggenheim, her and Dean kissing, singing, eating, camping, laughing and even yelling at each other. It was like her life was flashing before her eyes but only the good things, the time that had mattered. Was she dying? Could not be she was in utter bliss.

'Lena look at me,' she heard from a distance but she forced her eyes to focus and saw Dean's smile.

'We did it?' she questionably uttered not louder than a whisper.

'Yeah we did,' he said gazing upon her.

Lena came back to her sense and sprung up before the awkward moment could proceed. But she buckled back down.

'Aw!' she yelled, tears sprung to her eyes at the sudden onset of pain.

'Yeah I wanted to warn you,'

Then she saw the second spear lying close to her, still bloody and she clutched her left calf.

'Oh crap these were really good pants,' she said examining the damage. Dean was already on his feet about to pick her up, smiling broadly and shaking his head.

'Don't be silly, it's just a scratch, I can walk just fine,' she rapidly said before he could touch her.

'Okay fine, let's show it,' he said stepping away his hand in the air.

Lena got up wobbly supporting herself on one leg, she lightly tried to put weight on her toes, it worked, but when she wanted to put her entire foot down the pain flooded back. Dean didn't laugh and didn't pick her up threw her arm over his shoulders instead and he put his hand on her waist. Lena thanked him for not butting in or making fun of her without words and Dean understood.

'What happened to Ares and the box?' she asked on the way back to the cars.

'The box disappeared after opening, he yelled and was blown away with the force of a jet plane, seriously I wouldn't be surprised if he landed in the ocean. Who was that anyway?'

'From what I could tell he was the Greek God of Mayhem, war, whatever. He had the general basics on him, a spear for one,'

'A Greek God? So they're real?' Dean asked metaphorically, 'you know what,' he continued and stopped in his track, stopping Lena as well.

'What?' she asked grabbing his jacket a bit tighter.

'I am really sick of deities right about now.' Dean looked straight in Lena's eyes and she couldn't help but laugh out loud, Dean easily joined in and they laughed as if they hadn't laughed in two years and a half.

* * *

Lena came out of the long, hot shower and put on a white long men's blouse and some underpants. She had just finished dressing the wound on her leg which seemed perfectly fine as there was a soft knock on the door. She hopped to open it and just stuck her head out.

'Hey, what's up?' she asked a bit uncomfortably.

'Bobby has news, thought you might want to hear,' Dean's hair was wet and she guessed he had used his shower too.

'Euhm, yeah I do, hold on a sec,' she said turning to close the door again.

'What for? You got another man in there?'

'What? No! You saying I'm a whore now? For your information I'm not fully dressed!'

'Oh come on, I've seen you naked a thousand times! I can see you naked whenever I want, I have a superb memory.'

Lena contemplated his words and thought he was right, so she opened the door a little more so he could come in.

Dean, being Dean humped up on the bed and put the phone on speaker.

'Bobby we're both here,' he said glancing at Lena who had turned her back on Dean gathering some papers on the table. He saw her slender figure and almost didn't catch a word of what Bobby was saying. His memory was so faulty.

'That's great Bobby, so what's going to happen now?' Lena asked turning around and the light behind her illuminated the now see-through shirt she was wearing. Dean could make out the perfect curving of her breasts, going up and down as she breathed and the white butterfly underpants, revealing not enough.

'... More people will be affected, but will do good now. Your charm will work against it don't worry...'

Again Dean heard nothing of what Bobby was saying, he knew the gist so when Lena laughed at a joke, he laughed with her. He felt his jeans tighten to a point that it was just uncomfortable to have Bobby's voice in the room with them. The smell of her freshly washed hair only worsened his little condition and when Lena was done gathering the papers, of what he guessed was an unfinished manuscript, on the table she turned and saw Dean staring, nearly drooling. She said goodbye to Bobby and went over to Dean, took the phone out of his hands and pressed the end button. She felt naked and exposed as her naked knee touch his.

'What are you staring at?' she asked almost in a whisper.

'You are breathtaking,' he said without thinking, he shouldn't have said that and he shouldn't have put his hand behind her knee watching her leg. He dared not to look up, and shook his head. Her body responded to the touch however, 'you should go,' she breathed but her nipples had hardened betraying her own words. She crossed her arms and led him to the door and as she had the door ajar and the handle still in her hands, Dean paused and turned.

'You do make a great huntress, I was wrong' he said and looked into her eyes with a pleading only the two of them understood. Before Lena knew it, she was devouring his lips an she had closed the door again. Dean responded with an urgency and is hands travelled everywhere, while they moved through the room together swaying, still attached to one another. She took hold of his shirt and pulled it over his head, which was almost painful as they had to break contact for a second. She felt his hard cock against her lower abdomen and decided to get rid of the jeans containing his pleasure. Dean fumbled with the buttons on her blouse but got rid of it quite easily. And there they stood, so new and so familiar just the same, he bare breasts against his rock hard body. His callous hands travelled from the small of her back to her left breast and as his thumb reached her hard nipple goose bumps rose on both their bodies in sheer pleasure and Dean bowed his head and took most of her voluptuous flesh into is mouth, suckling what he loved. Lena gasped in pleasure and arched her back needing to be closer. Lena felt herself getting wet and longed for him so much she could hardly bare it. Dean seemed to be reading her mind again as his hand travelled south and caressed her underpants making her moan. He pushed Lena on the bed and she reached for the light, he stopped her and whispered in her ear; 'I need to see you, I had to miss you for too long.'

'I'm not the same anymore,' she said suddenly conscious of her own body, looking away.

Dean lifted himself off her and looked at her properly, though all the blood in his body was now residing in his thumping erection, his brain did register and he saw she was still the same Lena he had loved, his hands moved from her face and he was pleased there was not a mark on it. They moved down and found its first obstacle, she had gained a scar on her side during their time apart. Right now he didn't want to think about how she got it and his hand moved again while he kissed her belly, which was too flat and too hard to his liking. He skipped over her middle and started searching again from the foot up. Discovering only the newly gained gash and a bruise, and he softly kissed the bandage. His mouth moved up her leg and found her inner thigh, making her almost scream, he removed the underpants, she gladly complied and let him see her inner core, glistening. He planned to drag this out a little longer but he couldn't bare it any longer as he took her in his mouth and flicked his tongue against her clit. She tried not to orgasm and to wait for him to join her but it was obvious that he didn't plan on leaving her, as his hunger only grew and he sucked, caressed and licked her until she came, shivers ran through her entire body and her knees trembled almost crushing Dean's head. When her body had finally finished convulsing she was panting heavily and could not stand being away from him as he came up for air. She got to her knees and started kissing his neck, her mouth only wanted to go down south right now, and in the process Dean lost his boxers. Her fingers curled around the hard cock that was so ready to release, bulging warm in her hand it was so comfortable. But he stopped her from doing anything else and drew her mouth back to his. She thought she knew what he wanted so she broke the kiss and straddled him. The glint in Dean's eyes told her she was wrong and with one smooth move she was on her back again, Dean towering over her, his necklace hanging between them, she pulled it to bring him closer but he resisted and opened her legs with his hands. He took hold of his erection and Lena waited for him, she wanted it so bad it almost hurt physically, he teased her and stroked it against her soft flesh, finally he steered it right into her and both gasped when he entered. No longer able to contain himself he kissed her violently. His pelvis moved out and in again, so natural and in harmony. Her nails digging into his tanned shoulders. His hands were suddenly everywhere, her hair, her breasts, her back. They moved together as he pounded in her over and over again, but their needs became too great and he hit her harder and harder every time not before long Lena saw that Dean was about to finish as his eyes became so fixed on hers and his hands rested on one place, like always. She nodded to let him know she was with him, she arched her back on last time as she clung to him and the both of them came together. Every fibre of their bodies touching, not a shimmer of light able to penetrate between them, one entity, one mind. Lena gasped in utter pleasure and Dean groaned the same feral groan she had heard earlier, like he was marking some sort of territory. Then they fell silent, both exhausted, he laid his head on her chest, listening to her rabid heartbeat and watching one of her breasts going up and down. He thought it was perfect. Everything was perfect, his life was perfect. Lena was on the verge of tears and was glad Dean wasn't looking at her. She had forgotten what it felt like to have an orgasm with someone else, she couldn't even remember the last time she had come. And was very sorry she had missed that.

Both were silent for a long time, thinking about what they had just done and what this meant for the future.

'It were my parents,' Dean suddenly uttered as if he had now just realized the extent.

'Yes it were,' she replied comforting him stroking his head. Dean came off her and laid himself next to her, but the sudden distance was too much to bare and Lena curled up close to him, smelling his familiar fragrance. Dean smiled and kissed the top of her head while he pulled her closer on him.

They talked well into the night. Lena told Dean how she started hunting and how she came to be part of this one. She told about Italy, when she finished the story though she had noticed that he being a heroine had turned Dean on again and they had to pause their story telling for another hour. She told him about her books and her publishing house, even about the many anonymous men. Dean cringed when he heard so many had wanted to claim what was his but he didn't show it. He didn't want her to feel bad or ashamed, it was he who had been stupid enough to show her the door. Dean in turn talked about Sam and Julie, Christina and Katie and about hunting without Sam and finally, about Angela. He dreaded this because although Lena had slept around quite a bit, falling in love with someone else felt like the real betrayal. But Lena too hid her feelings towards this fact, they both would have to deal with the aftermath of their time apart. Dean admitted to calling her old number a couple of times right after they broke up but Lena pretended she had thrown that phone out and Dean was a bit too happy about that, he however didn't know that she had listened to that first voicemail where he was practically begging her to take him back but she had been so angry and confused back then that she actually threw out the phone somewhere on route 66.

The sun was already rising in the East when they were all talked out, and exhausted Dean fell asleep and turned to his side. All Lena's dreams and hopes vanished in an instant as she saw the red bulging mark on his neck. He was infected, it wasn't real, none of it was. Tears came back to her eyes as she grabbed her stuff as quickly as possible and ran to her car, ignoring the pain in her calf. She was full on crying when she reached the highway. She couldn't live a lie even if she would be in love enough for the both of them, she couldn't force herself on him, she wouldn't. So she set out for Connecticut, she had to see the little Winchester, but then she'd be flying away, far away.

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**Please review, it's hugely appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9

**It's been a while, I know. Just trying to finish this story so I can forget about this horrible writer's block.**

**So this will almost wrap things up. One more chap with maybe an epilogue... Depends on how long the finishing chapter will be.**

**Reviews are the best thing anyone can get, the good and the bad!**

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Chapter 9: Edmund

It had been a little under five weeks since Pandora's box had closed, but not before leaving a little havoc. The newspapers had been filled almost daily with breaking stories. Some were sickening and others were philanthropic. It was like the papers and people had been blind during the bad times and had finally caught up with the strange events. Lena felt bad that a lot of people would be paying fines and going to prison, she felt especially afraid for the victims in Kermit and Lufkin since they were so keen on the death penalty. Therefore she had gone to Texas right after visiting Julie at the hospital.

Sam had been nice to her and had not tried to convince her to stop hunting, he actually said she did a good job. Of course he and his lovely wife were oblivious to the events that had occurred right after the closing of the box. She had gotten a furious call from Julie. It said that she loved Lena but that toying with her brother-in-law like this was just too cruel. Lena, for the life of her, couldn't fathom why they would be angry, she gave Dean an easy out. When they would all come to their senses after Pandora's effects wore off they'd realize the favour she'd done them. Okay fair she was lying to herself. She wanted nothing more than to grovel back to her old clan and the life she had envisioned with Dean while they lay besides each other, but she wouldn't.

She had taken a tiny break from hunting though, not for their benefit but because it would attract a little too much attention to her. The last sentence of Julie's voicemail literally stated that _"He's hunting you down, you know. And I for one don't blame him and I hope he catches you. Time to stop running!"_ Lena had been taken aback by this last statement. Had she really expected Dean's ego would be fine with being bruised? And how was she to interpret this _hunting_ was he coming after her with his favourite rifle or was he chasing tail? For all these reasons she decided laying low was the best for now, they would come back to their senses eventually, besides she had publishing agents breathing down her neck. She had gone over her manuscript at least twice now and she had to admit that both Erik and Astrid were right in it feeling unfinished but she could not find the problem, let alone fix it. She was too anxious with all this built up energy without a release and she couldn't concentrate, never mind rewriting the whole thing! All in all she was just really bored and she really wished she had some friends right about now.

* * *

'Urgh, she is the most stupid, stubborn woman I have ever met!' Dean screamed furiously.

'Then why have you been trying to track her every move and are you so set on finding her?' Sam retorted, hearing Dean's fuming outbursts for the billionth time.

'So I can beat her to a pulp,'

Sam rolled his eyes, as if Dean would ever hit/shoot a woman with no demon inside the meatsuit, it was just preposterous. Although he had to admit he was kind of furious as well, and if he hadn't had that chivalrous gene Julie loved so much, he would probably help his brother hunt her down and give her a good lashing himself. When he heard what happened after everything was over he had been awestruck. Not only because Dean had withhold details for once but also because he couldn't imagine why Lena would toy with Dean's feelings like this. He knew Dean had hurt her but this was almost three years ago and he never saw her as a vindictive woman. He hadn't even guessed anything when suddenly a very tired Lena had show up at the hospital when his son had been barely one day old, he thought it was weird Dean wasn't with her and that she looked absolutely knackered and fragile. Dean showed up a couple of hours after Lena had left to God knows where. Julie had asked but hadn't gotten a sincere reply. Dean had shown up completely bewildered and out of breath, asking casually if Lena was there. When the answer was negative but, that she had been Dean had had half a mind not to rush back to his car in pursuit. Though he wanted his answers, he wanted to meet his nephew more.

Sam had been beaming when he gave the three-day old to his older brother, finally feeling like he'd done something right for once.

'Dean,' Sam had started, 'this is Ethan, Ethan Robert Winchester,' all thoughts of Lena had evaporated when the little bundle was being laid in his arms. It was warm and it made him warm and all the emotions from over the last few days had rolled into his eyes making it hard to see the little miracle in his arms. Though he didn't want to, he blinked to clear his vision, tiny tears escaped. This little boy deserved his utter and full attention.

'Robert? Bobby's gonna have a fit,' Dean smirked.

'What do you think, godfather?' Sam asked as he saw Dean holding his son pretty comfortably.

'You're asking me to be godfather?' Dean asked finally tearing his eyes from the curious, deep ocean blue ones staring up at him.

'Who else?' Sam said calmly though the joy in his heart made it hard to keep his composure.

'Who's the godmother,' he asked suddenly curious.

'Christina's kid, Nicole, she was over the moon when we asked and Chris cried,'

'You sly dogs, free babysitting duties, nice,'

Dean looked back down and said in a small voice; 'guess I'll be the one teaching you how to make a sawed-off and how to get girls then huh?'

Sam just smiled and clapped his brother on the back. Dean scratched his neck still holding Ethan, who was wide awake and extremely curious.

'What's that on your neck?' Sam wondered suddenly as if he was about to drag Ethan out of Dean's arms. Julie's heart jumped too and her motherly instincts were about to take over aswell.

'Oh relax!' Dean exclaimed looking up at the both of them, 'it's a mosquito bite. It's been itching like crazy ever since I woke in Colorado.'

'Are you sure?' Sam asked taking a closer look at the mark on his neck. He had remembered the mark being bigger and redder but he had no idea how these things evolved or manifested in the beginning. It did look like a mosquito bite though.

'I'm fine and unpossessed I swear,' he said handing Ethan back to his mother since her anxiousness had filled the room in a matter of seconds and wouldn't abide.

He grabbed the chain around his neck with the familiar amulet dangling on it. 'Protection, I can not be possessed, not by evil nor good. You two are the ones who should be looking out for this wave of love, sex and rock and roll, it is bound to spread over the entire world now and_'

Dean wanted to say more but he suddenly broke off, hit his forehead with his palm and sighed shaking his head. 'Ofcourse,' he added almost inaudible.

'What is it?' Sam asked.

'It is why she left?' Dean questioned still to himself.

Sam wanted to ask who left but he caught on pretty quickly, he had sensed this would happen the minute he found out Lena was hunting. Therefore he just asked 'what happened?'

Dean explained what just happened the moment Sam had left for his wife. He omitted no details, even told them about the silent conversation between the two in the roadside diner halfway there and normally he would have told them that he had her coming over and over again that night and what an incredible stud he was, but somehow that night, the entirety of it, had been too special and precious to share with anyone. He left it with the unexplained; 'we had sex' he hated to tell this lie, it had been much, much more 'and we talked and when I woke up she was gone. No note, no nothing. Just gone.' Taking all his happiness and ripping his freaking heart out, he added in his mind.

'So now you think, she thinks you are possessed?'

'Yes,'

'Why would she care? And why do you? You never care if a girl spends the night or not?' Sam asked not having picked up on Dean's facial expression or tone of voice for once, Julie fortunately spared Dean and hit her husband in the gut with her free arm.

'Don't you see. Sometimes I think you are the smartest man I know and sometimes you can just be dumb,'

'What?'

'It's not just a girl, this is Lena we're talking about. The love of his life,'

'Hey!' Dean said uncomfortable with permanent labels like that. But Julie just raised her eyebrow daring him to contradict her.

'she freaked out upon seeing the mosquito bite, thinking all that they shared that night was fake and motivated by Pandora's box.'

'Okay how do you catch that from Dean's one night stand with an old girlfriend?'

'Seriously. How dense?' she replied giving a nod towards Dean showing her husband that he wasn't denying it.

Sam looked at his older brother and noted that he looked defeated, he wondered if that was due to admitting Julie's statement or that Lena had left him so abruptly, he didn't know but either option meant that Dean's heart had been bashed and he got angry for good measure.

'So, what are you going to do now?'

'Hunt the bitch down, she'll talk to me!' Dean sounded resolved and Sam was fully aware that he couldn't say anything to change his mind, neither did he wanted to, he realized.

'Go get her tiger,' Julie had said with a slight smile on her face. When Dean had left the hospital she had immediately gotten her cell out and dialled the number she had been given in case of emergency. A number Lena vowed she would never throw away but was indeed only meant for real emergencies.

* * *

So here they were a little under five weeks later, missing Lena by an inch every time. Dean had a feeling that either she was chasing him and therefore always a step ahead or Bobby had been enlisted as a double spy and helping her instead of him. 'He wouldn't,' he said resolute, 'would he?'.

'Sam I need to call Bobby. What's Ethan doing these days anyway?'

'Sleeping, eating and pooping, what else?'

'Just like his uncle,' Dean smiled, 'okay Sam, talk to you later.'

'Yeah, call me when you find something,'

Dean hung up and dialled again.

'Bobby!'

'Yes Dean, why I can tell you're in superb mood,' Bobby said laughing.

'Yeah, same goes for you,' Dean answered puzzled, 'You know where Lena is. You've been keeping her in the loop.'

'Ah, young love. How beautiful. So you're the prince on the white horse and she's the princess huh?'

'What the hell have you been smoking? That morphine from your 'Nam days went bad a long time ago Bobby, stop shooting it up!'

'What? No! I'm not high, just happy actually.'

'You got a red mark in your neck?'

'Yeah woke up with it three days ago,'

'Wonderful,' Dean sighed and hung his head snapping it upright quickly since he was still driving.

'No seriously Dean it is. I feel better, stronger, even Rufus and I are getting along great. We even took home some ladies last night.'

'Oh stop, gross, damn the mental picture! Djeez! Tell me what you know of Lena's whereabouts and call me when you want to rip me a new one.'

Bobby just laughed a throaty laugh and explained simply.

'Texas,' he said.

'I knew you were working with her!'

'Dean shut up I told you and her I was staying out of this mess you two created, I just happen to have a subscription to the Post.' And with that last statement Bobby ended the conversation leaving Dean stunned and screeching to halt at the nearest gas station. He picked up the Post but didn't find anything conspicuous, until he read a headline saying something about the trials in Texas. A woman standing trial for the unintentional murder of three homeless people. He had been there he was curious so he read the article and his eyes paused as he perused over the photo. It was a familiar scene he had seen so any times. A court, a judge, twelve jurors, a defendant, people sobbing in the back. But then his eye caught the eighth juror. A woman, with distinct brown curls, looking concerned. He had to smirk, of course she would be there, and by the looks of it she wasn't alone. A familiar trench coat caught his eye behind Lena. Together they would indeed assure some kind of justice.

Only way out the death sentence for the accused was a non unanimous vote. Lena's idea was brilliant and he laughed out loud. He finally found her, he was mentally kicking himself for not involving Cas since he clearly did keep tabs on Lena though, and she was doing her best to make the world a fairer place and she wasn't chasing after him or making devious plans to ruin his life more. She was just being, moving on. He stopped the sudden onset of laughter and considered this for a moment. Normally he would be jumping into the Impala and drive to Texas but maybe she didn't want to be with him, maybe she didn't love him, maybe it was time to let her go? He hated to think it and decided he needed something to take his mind off things. He needed a job.

* * *

'Julie?' Lena asked tensely.

'Of course it's me you idiot, you called me remember!'

'Urm yeah, so how have you been?'

'Oh I'm just peachy! Ethan is not sleeping through the night yet, my husband is worried about his brother, whose heart happens to be in pieces and who's gone off on a wild goose chase. So you tell me how I am feeling.' She yelled through her cell, unfortunately she woke Ethan in the process.

'I can see you're still a bit hormonal then?'

Julie just started crying; 'I don't know what's wrong with you!' she wailed, 'how can you break his heart like that,' sniff, 'you've really done it this time. I feel like I don't even know you anymore!'

'Oh come on Julz. Can we meet up somewhere? Have lunch. Bring Ethan. Make a weekend out of it. I'll meet you in the middle.'

'I don't know,' Julie sobbed.

'Please,' Lena finally added, she hadn't want to go down this road but if pleading worked she'd definitely do it, 'I'm begging you. I could really use a friend right about now.'

'Okay, fine, but I'll have to leave Ethan with Sam. He'll never agree to a weekend without his son.'

'Hmm... okay yeah sure if that's what you want,' Lena said kind of disappointed.

'Where are you know?'

'I was in Texas, the trial of that woman is just over, but I'm in Manhattan now'

'How did the trial go?'

'Fine, the jury wasn't unanimous, lacking three votes, so she got a prison sentence,'

'Oh thank God for that. You do know that I can tell Sam you're in New York now right?'

'Look Julz, I don't care anymore if Dean is so set on finding me then I'll let him.' Lena sighed.

'Really?'

'Look I just want to talk to you, my best friend, if I have to take the Winchesters with it, I will.'

'Waw, I'm almost flattered. Fine we'll meet up this weekend.'

* * *

Edmund hoisted his body from the anonymous blonde that had been beneath him for the past thirty minutes or so. Her eyes were pretty much vacant as she squirmed on the bed, trying to lose the bands keeping her locked to the frame. He barely recognized her as a being, they were there to be used, he figured. Only once in a while did he actually enjoy female company but that hadn't happened in a while now.

He pulled up a pair of pants and a shirt and went back to the main room, or what was being used as a main room, figuring they were camping out in an old, abandoned grain silo. He looked at the unconscious bodies strapped from ceilings and glanced at the cage with the whimpering ones, only five or six others were able enough to roam free without restraints. Sometimes Edmund made a mistake though and those five or six would start fighting anyway, waking up and stirring others on. It ticked him off so much that he would think he had made a mistake. But then sense would kick back in and he'd remember why he's doing this. He had heard that Gordon Walker had snuffed it a couple of years ago but there were other, it was just a matter of patiently waiting.

He observed the chaos and inhumanity seeping from the half-naked bodies, paranoia filling their eyes. He walked over to the big hole in the wall and took down the mattresses that were covering it. The hanging bodies were now getting a first glimpse of the rising sun, they screamed but that was it, they didn't burst into flames like myth taught us, it was just a tad uncomfortable definitely for the young ones, and before you get any ideas, the screamers were not sparkling either, just to set the record straight. He turned his back on the punished and went to his own quarters, stopping by the cage with a whimpering child, at least a child to him, thirty maybe forty years of age, he was in doubt should he have a snack before bed? She looked delicious, but then she said; 'please,' and big fat tears were rolling off her face. He decided against it as his humanity tried to kick in again. The others could have her if they wanted. He threw in a loaf of stale bread with the same attitude as feeding your pet fish and withdrew to his own quarters.

Edmund had been tired, oh so tired, the hunt had become so mundane and routine that it was no longer fun. The world had changed. He had grown up with horse-drawn carriages but now these steel and metal contraptions were supposed to take you places. Sometimes he did see a nice one, forty years ago these cars looked beautiful to him but now they all looked the same, overgrown razors. Another thing he found so odd; razors, needing a battery to remove one's hair from one's face? He did not understand this new world he was occupying. His companions and life-mate had died a long time ago or they had gone their separate ways. He smiled when he thought of Lenore, she had been his best friend through life and after-life, they hadn't spoken in over fifty years. She wanted to try and live a vegetarian life. He had laughed. They had parted for they could not agree and he, Coraline and Luke had moved on. He had been tired back then but with the loss of his last true family, exhaustion had come upon him like a blanket smothering a small child, enveloping him in loneliness and utter boredom. He had a good run, he loved Coraline, true love, and Luke was by any definition a true brother in arms, Lenore as well. A perfect quartet. They had murdered together, made havoc down in the South, fought for freedom, at one point he had even been minister in a republican parliament. But now all was lost and so he had forfeited his life, after Coraline he even lost the gusto for sex. She had been special. And they had been perfect. He doubted she would've approved of his exit plan though, he didn't really care, she couldn't nag him, she wasn't here. Okay fine turning a small village into blood-craving maniacs could be seen as a bit melodramatic but he found it funny and well sometimes one needs a bit of a show to get noticed. He would go down in the hunter's history books, he would become a story to tell around the table or campfire. Those shotgun-loving rednecks would love this. It had been a week now, someone was bound to come in and destroy everything in a matter of hours, maybe days. He had grieved it wouldn't be Gordon Walker, he was an admirable opponent – yes he was planning on getting killed but not without a fight – he now hoped on maybe getting Johnny, or Collin, those guys were good. Of course if he was still able to dream, it would be the two Winchesters barging through the door. He had never had the pleasure to observe the two men in action but according to various tongues and happenings those two had to be the best. Edmund snorted, well almost, he was sure it was more a media-hype to stir some angst amongst demons and their consorts but what if they did stop the apocalypse, closed the doors to Hell, opened Pandora's Box, killed Gordon, they must be good. _What if_ – he had figured he had been too old to daydream about girly 'what if'-scenarios but here he was dreaming of two men he never met and fighting them to death. Oh, if only he would be so lucky. He watched the sunrise some more as the screams became louder, covered his own little hole in the wall and flopped onto the unmade bed with the twitching naked blonde in it, he fell asleep instantly and became literally the dead man he was.

* * *

'Dean! It's Sam,'

'Yeah I know, why do you sound so giddy?'

'I found her!'

'Really?' Dean asked without much interest.

'Yeah she was in Texas but she's in NY now,' Sam gushed out the words like a waterfall.

'Yeah I know, found out about a week ago,'

'So you driving up now?'

'Nope, never went to Texas, I'm not far actually,'

'You don't want to find her?' Sam asked confused but careful.

'Look Sam, obviously she doesn't want to be found, and I'm not a crazy ex-boyfriend or desperate, so if she's ready she can find me, I'm done,'

'O-kay?' Sam replied even more confused, 'so where are you anyway? Why don't you come back home then?'

'Remember our old camping spot?'

'By the national forest, the one where we summoned the dark Angel? Sure, man we haven't been there in ages!'

'Yeah, and luckily,'

'How so?'

'Vampire-infestation,'

'Really? How bad?'

'Well let's put it this way, that town nearby,'

'Yeah,'

'Empty except for kids under the age of sixteen,'

'Oh God, that's awful' Sam couldn't help himself and turned his eyes to the crib in his living room where a small boy was resting so peacefully, 'you need help?' he asked though it should've come out like a statement.

'Yeah I think I do, it looks like there's one elderly but all the others are newly turned and vicious, they mostly fight among themselves but they're strong though,'

'Yeah I'll get Bobby to watch Ethan and I'll come over,'

'Bobby? Where's Julz?'

'She and Lena are spending the weekend together,'

'Really,' Dean commented absentmindedly. He had decided to leave her alone but it felt like he needed to make that choice every hour again.

* * *

Lena leaned against the Mustang and took a last drag from her cigarette before casting it away, she was nervous. How the hell could she be nervous? This was her best friend, she kept repeating it in her head. Julie, you know her, you trust her, pull yourself together. But her stomach twisted and she braced herself as she knew what was coming. She ran to the side of the parking lot and vomited for the second time that morning.

'Well, well, well, someone been out drinking?' a haughty voice said behind her.

Lena wiped her mouth on the back of her jacket and turned around, no smirk.

'Not really,'

'Oh God, hunny you look awful, what's wrong?' Julie suddenly said dropping the act. She couldn't see her friend in pain, not even if that friend has wronged another. She suddenly remembered Lena, her Lena, the one that had been by her side before, during and after her family had gotten killed. She couldn't help thinking; screw Dean, Lena and her went back a long way and no man should be able to come between them.

She ran over and flung one of Lena's arms around her neck while she hoisted her back up.

'I'm fine, seriously, I think I have food poisoning or something,' Lena said gaining some balance on her feet.

'Let's go inside shall we?'

'Yeah that's a good idea,'

The two women went inside and Lena gained some colour in her face as they took seats opposite of one another.

'How's Ethan?' Lena asked pensively while perusing the menu.

'He's fine, Bobby is watching him for the first time, he's on cloud nine,'

'Yeah, I heard,' Lena didn't want to tell Julie the reason why he's on cloud nine, since it was just a little more than a new human being interrupting their lives.

'Why isn't Sam with him?'

'They're on a hunt,' Julie said, trying hard not to say Dean's name. She didn't know how Lena would react but she was better safe than sorry.

Both girls were quite uncomfortable with each other, they held back, both could feel that there was so much the other wanted to tell but it seemed that too much time had gone by for them to still have that old connection. Both picked their words carefully, not knowing how the other would react. Lena suddenly figured it had been a bad idea to call Julie, how could she have counted on a friendship that had all but stopped two and half years ago?

The waiter came with their food and Julie picked at it quietly while Lena's nose went up.

'Urgh, excuse me,' she said calling back the guy that had placed their food on the table.

'Yes?' He asked politely.

'This tuna is rancid, can't you smell it,' just uttering the words made Lena's stomach twist again and she had to spurt for the bathroom, leaving both the waiter and Julie raise their eyebrows.

'Shall I bring another one?'

Julie smiled at him and shook her head.

'No thanks, can you get her a salad and ginger ale instead?'

'Sure,' he said taking the rancid tuna with him.

Only moments later Lena returned and scooted back into the booth.

'Sorry about that, just the idea of rancid food makes me hurl apparently,'

'It isn't that,' Julie said, slowly eating her chicken, not looking up into Lena's eyes, 'I ordered you a salad and some ginger ale, you'll see it'll be much better.'

'O-kay,' Lena said incredulously, 'thanks but I don't think I can eat something right now,'

'Trust me, you will,'

The waiter came over with the new order and at the site of some greens and non-smelling food she felt a slight resemblance to hunger. She slowly started chewing the salad and took a sip of her beverage, she was stunned but it did the trick, she cleared her plate without complaint and was actually smiling by the end. Julie just looked at her and smiled.

'I knew it,' she said.

'Yeah thanks, how did you know it would help,'

'I couldn't stand fish or poultry when I was pregnant, and Sam figured ginger ale would help with the morning sickness and it did,'

Lena's eyes bulged.

'I'm not pregnant,' she said absent-mindedly calculating her cycle in her head.

'Yeah sure,'

'No,' she almost whispered but not denying, just 'no' in disbelief, 'how can this be?'

'You always careful?'

Lena had to admit, she wasn't, she was always on the pill but sometimes that was the only protection she had. She suddenly wondered whose it was. This could become a serious problem. It depended on how long she was pregnant for of course, wait wait wait, she needed to make sure first.

'I think we need to find a drugstore,'

'Let's go then,' Julie said all happy and excited as she threw some money on the table and rushed to the door as fast as she could.

They went to a drugstore together and bought the most specific test they had, this one should even indicate how far along she was. Julie had driven back to the hotel they'd be spending the night and they were now staring at the tube anxiously awaiting the results. All the different scenario's were going through her head now, if she wasn't life would go on and she'd talk to Dean for what it's worth, she needed to explain things. If she was pregnant and more specifically, from that guy whose name she couldn't remember but remembered him as a moderate lay, she could maybe take steps towards abortion? Or maybe adoption? If it was that guy who was definitely under twenty-one, she could be sued by the parents, oh joy. No, keeping it was definitely not an option. Now she came to think of it, that under-aged guy, probably wasn't even possible, time-wise. What if it was Dean's? Could she keep it then? The thought of a little Winchester in her arms made her stomach flutter, would they be able to work it out? Maybe she did have a shot at a full life, she was satisfied with how things were at the moment, how much chaos that might mean, but this could bring back the dreams she had had so long ago. A family. She couldn't remember a day that she had longed for motherhood but now that the possibility was fast approaching she could accept it much easier than she had anticipated. Whoever's it was, it was hers too. Would she want her baby to know it's father? Yeah she figured she did, but she had, what was it? Nine months to figure it all out. The thought calmed her and unconsciously she wrapped her arms around her stomach, clutching what was hers.

Julie seemed to have picked up on most of Lena's thoughts as her expression kept shifting, she knew her situation and Lena's were completely different but she'd like to believe that she knew what was going on with her friend. As she saw Lena's arms go around her she smiled, figuring Lena must have decided internally what to do with whatever happened.

'Why did you run,' she suddenly asked bringing Lena out of the stupor she was in.

She looked up into Julie's eyes but averted her gaze again as she decided to tell the truth, the one she had kept from herself too; 'to protect him,'

'Protect him from what?' Julie asked understandingly instead of sceptically.

'From me,' she replied putting her head between her knees exhaling, since the tension was maybe a bit too much to bare.

'I don't understand,' Julie said and Lena was very thankful that was her friend's answer cause false words like; you're crazy, what are you talking about, you're no danger, would not help the situation.

'I'm not the same person anymore Julie,'

Julie just nodded pushing Lena to go on.

'I'm not the woman Dean was in love with so many years ago. We slept together, true, but that's what happens after a hunt goes right. We both needed a release after all the tension and hard work, after the horror. I gave him a simple out, I did what he wanted to do. I avoided the uncomfortable morning after. I swear Julie, he'll thank me later, when he comes back to his senses. He's ego is just a bit hurt right now.'

'When he comes back to his senses? You mean when Pandora's influence ebbs away?'

'Yeah exactly,'

'Hunny, don't freak out, but that mark on the back of Dean's neck was a mosquito bite he wasn't possessed and he wasn't under any influence when he made love to you,'

Lena was struck when Julie used another term for that night than she had used.

'How do you know?'

'Sam and I saw the mark, Sam said it looked different from the others but Dean kept scratching it and well we watched it go away in a couple of days.'

'So, that night...' Lena started but Julie interrupted.

'Was completely and utterly real,'

'What did Dean tell you?'

'Not much, but I can read between the lines and boy, although we are out of touch I still know exactly what's going on. I can't believe people think you're a closed book. Just saying Dean's name such conflict spreads over your face that I can see you're hurting and loving at the same time. I do wish you'd be less stubborn in the future.'

'Oh please goddess of foresight, what do see happening now?' Lena asked sarcastically.

'Well, we should look at that stick and see if it turned pink, then we should find our boys and you and Dean will make up and live happily ever after,'

'Oh really?' Lena had to laugh, she couldn't believe Julie still talked in fairytales. She loved it though, Julie had in some way kept her innocence through all the bad shit they had seen. She however had turned into a realist and dreams about a happy little family with Dean were just that, dreams.

Julie's cell phone suddenly started blaring, time was up.

'Oh God, you look, I can't watch,' Lena said her face buried in a pillow.

Julie picked it up and saw the results.

'It's negative, you're not pregnant,'

'What?' Lena asked in disbelief, she had been so sure, how could it be, 'oh thank God, right? What would I have done?'

'Yeah, load of your mind?'

'Yeah, definitely, it's for the better' Lena said staring into space before her, 'I could've supported it financially, but where would we live?' pictures flew before her eyes, if the kid wasn't to know his father it'd definitely know his grandfather, she grinned, she could've lived closer to Bobby, that way he could help her out and when time comes she could help him. But the dreams and fantasies shattered in front of her eyes and she couldn't help but clutch her stomach even harder. She suddenly felt so empty, pointless even. What was her purpose in life again?

'Shit,' she said suddenly as tears came down her cheeks.

'Oh thank God,' Julie replied in utter relief.

'What? You're glad I'm crying over something I never had?'

'Yeah, sorry, kind of lied, you are pregnant, about six weeks the stick says.' Julie held it up as proof and Lena leaned in peering through the tears she saw that Julie wasn't lying now.

'Oh my God,' Lena said turning on the waterworks even harder, 'that's cruel,' she added while Julie hugged her and let her blouse get stained. But these tears weren't out of pain but joy and warmth instead. Not happiness exactly just joy and maybe a hint of relief.

'I know, but now you at least know for sure that this is what you want,'

'That's a dangerous game,' Lena said still crying.

'Wouldn't've played it if I weren't ninety-nine percent sure.'

'Six weeks,' Lena suddenly said, 'this means it's Dean's I guess,'

'That's for you to know, not me,'

'Well I'm ninety-nine percent sure,' Lena said smirking at her friend and they both laughed and laid down on the bed. It felt like they had been standing for hours instead of minutes. Lena's hands found the way to her stomach again and warmth spread over her entire body.

'You think I should talk to him, don't you,'

'That's a given Lena,'

'You know where they are?'

'Last I heard Sam was on a half a day's drive from our favourite camping spot,'

'Really? So what's going on there?'

'Not sure, he wouldn't tell me oddly enough,'

'How far are we?'

'Little less than a day off,' Julie said turning her head so she could look at her co-conspirator.

'You thinking what I'm thinking?'

'I'm always thinking what you're thinking even if we're thousand miles apart,'

'Well let's go then,' Lena replied veering off the bed.µ

* * *

Dean kicked back at the motel with a beer, he knew his brother would be there soon but they wouldn't open fire at night. Their best chances, though they were pretty slim to be honest, were definitely at daytime with a nest this big. He had tried to count and ended up with about 29 vampires including the one adult who turned all the others, he was sure he didn't see some of them but he was as equally sure that during the night there would be a couple who'd die. He suddenly thought of Lenore, she would be more appalled by the scene than he was. He wondered why there were so few vampires making the choice to live among them instead of feared or hunted by them. It just doesn't add up. Then he figured what if he had to give up burgers for the rest of his life, or wait make it even harder, what if he had to give up meat for the rest of his life. He had known briefly what it meant to be a vegetarian, Lena wouldn't mind him eating meat but she had refused to cook it for him. That was his choice and if he wanted he could go out and get it or cook it himself but she wouldn't touch it. He had thought that was fine, but no matter how you put it, Lena was usually the one making dinner and now he came to think of it, he hadn't missed it back then. He decided that if he could live without meat, vampires should be able to live without human blood. He found it weird though, he had never encountered a situation like this before, all his vampire related hunts always taught him that they didn't want to be discovered but here they were practically flaunting it for anyone who wanted to look. If this maker wanted himself killed, this was definitely the way to do it. Dean felt restless and bad for not going in guns blazing but he just knew that would not be the responsible thing to do. He wasn't looking to get himself killed, not by a freaking vampire anyway.

Dean managed to get some shut-eye but he wasn't comforted by a dreamless sleep or one with beautiful women. There was just one, but she kept popping up in horrible scenes. He wanted to get her safe but he failed, again and again, he tried so hard but he just couldn't get her away. He woke up with his heart going a hundred miles an hour and his sheets were soaking wet. He jumped in the shower and let the warm water carry away his nightly troubles and after fifteen minutes the knots in his back became untied.

'You gonna be in there long?"

Dean was startled.

'Sam for fuck sake, you scared me man,'

'Yeah well I have been waiting a while now, you spend more time in the bathroom than the average woman!'

'Perfection can't be hastened,' Dean replied shutting the water off and grabbing a towel, 'you seen the barn yet?'

'No I thought to pick you up first,'

'I think we're still outnumbered,' Dean said not all too confident with his toothbrush hanging in his mouth, 'I think we should call Cas, see if he...' but before Dean could utter the last of his sentence a rushing wind past and Dean was nose to nose with the angel in small bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

'Cas, personal space please!'

'You smell nice,' the angel replied dryly while taking a step back.

Dean heard Sam laughing at the other side of the door. 'Can you give me some privacy here?'

'Yes, of course, you called me?' Castiel replied turning his back to Dean.

Dean just shook his head in disbelief and rinsed his mouth.

'Yeah, we have gotten ourselves a vampire nest,'

'What do you need me for?'

'Cas I know it's been a while since you got your hands dirty but I think you could use the exercise,' Dean said now wearing his boxers and a shirt. All the remnants of the soothing, relaxing shower were now gone.

'Dean, I have learned a lot in my time with you two, so I know you're actually just trying to ask for my help,' Cas replied still with his nose to the door.

'Okay, so you're in?'

'Yes I am,' he said and when he turned around Dean saw something he hadn't seen yet, Cas was actually smiling and had this twinkle in his eye like he was just given a big treat.

'You two love-birds nearly done in there?' Sam yelled.

'Don't be jealous Sam, I like you too,' Castiel said as he opened the door. Both Dean and Sam were stunned at Castiel's sudden onset of ... well humour.

'So what are we dealing with?'

'Last night there were 28 youngsters and a maker, but I'll doubt that there'll be as much this morning,'

'So how do we handle this?'

'Youngsters are quick and vicious but they make sloppy mistakes and are easy to overcome, just don't let them jump you,'

Castiel nodded as he understood what needed happening.

'Let's go then,'

Castiel, Sam and Dean left the dingy motelroom and after a half an hour drive they saw the abandoned barn or well the previously abandoned barn.

'Here Cas we have a machete for ya,' Dean said handing him his spare.

'No thank you, I have my own weapons,' he replied shaking loose his hands like he was preparing for a boxing match.

'Okay, easy tiger, I hate to sound like a walking cliché but,' Dean paused for dramatic effect, 'leave no one alive,' he grinned and sprinted forward soundlessly followed shortly by a tall man and an angel in an accountant's suit.

Dean entered quietly and saw a couple of bodies hanging from the ceiling in front of a self-made window. He needed to get them first, they were hardly sleeping. This was just plain torture, he thought to himself. He signalled to Sam to do the hanging ones first and preferably quiet, he signalled to Cas to scope out the rest of the place.

Both nodded in agreement and Sam and Dean went for the first, beheading them from behind, they were quiet but somehow one did notice the movement beside him and before Sam could chop off its head he had already screamed, waking up the whole lot of them.

Edmund heard the shriek of one of his newborns and he felt the adrenaline pumping in his system.

'This was it,' he thought. 'I'll finally be reunited with my love, I wonder who's out there.'

'The blond next to him had her fangs out and she was itching to get free. He, being a giver always, cut her loose and saw her storm out the door where he could saw three men fighting he did not know.

He wondered if he should join the fight. He decided yes, but at his own pace, he pulled up some slacks and a clean ironed shirt. He placed himself in the doorway and watched, watched while he saw his prodigies getting killed off one by one and still they were eager to jump the men. He had already lost about half his legion, this was going too easy for them and it wasn't even entertaining to watch anymore. The angel had something brutal though. He just plainly ripped the heads of the bodies who caught up a little late a kept fighting without a head for just a couple of seconds. But then he saw something strange in the corner of his eye, through the self-made windows in the barn's tin walls, something that would tip the scale in his direction. Two women stood not far by their car. And as he saw the horror on one of their faces, he knew the group belonged together.

'Julz, don't panic, Sam has done this loads of times, they'll be fine!' but as she said the words she didn't trust them herself.

Julie covered her face with her hands, 'but there are just so many,' she yelled horror struck.

'You know what, I better go help,'

'No! Don't even think about it,'

'Julie, look at me,' Lena said firmly grabbing both of Julie's wrists, 'they're not well-organised, as far as I can see they're all new. I am sure Sam and Dean and...' Lena peered and saw a third one, 'Cas can handle themselves just fine, I just think things would be quicker and easier if I lend them a hand,'

Julie looked at the fight and saw Sam get jumped by four of the bloodsuckers,

'Go!' she said and she just stood there overseeing the hell she was sending her friend to but the fact was she would send anyone to Sam's aid.

Lena hastily grabbed the machete out of her own trunk and rushed down the small hill, towards the barn.

Dean had no idea what he was looking at but at one point a woman came blazing through the door and before one fang could jump her she had already beheaded two of the ones who were overpowering Sam, without the extra weight she stretched out her hand to Sam and he grabbed it getting off the floor wiping the blood of his cut lower lip, 'thanks,' he said not sure what just happened.

'You're welcome,' she said but only after she beheaded another one. Dean was baffled but he kept on fighting and swinging his bloody blade around, accidently knocking of hand or an arm here and there.

'Ouch,' someone suddenly screamed. Lena knew that voice all too well and saw that Dean had gotten jumped by a fang and she was actually drinking. What a nerve.

'Get of him, Bitch!' Lena cried before she plunged her knife into the blonde's midriff. The blond retracted her fangs and fell to the floor.

'That's not the way to kill'em sweetie,'

'Oh I know, I was in Italy remember,' she said matter-of-factly a bit out of breath not looking up at Dean. She saw an old rake hanging on the wall, she grabbed it quickly, 'you should not have touched him,' she said ferociously and pierced the vampire's neck.

'This wont kill her either but at least she'll get the message,'

Edmund was now watching Lena with eager eyes and he just had to have her. He no longer wanted to exit this life and be reunited with his former lover. This woman would become his new bride. He had never seen a woman swing a blad like her. She was effective, not wasting energy. If she hauled out she made sure she hit. There was passion in her eyes and although she was standing in the midst of a bloody massacre, there was still an twinkle in her eye that told him she was enjoying this. What it would mean to make love to her?

He searched for an opening but he noticed that he no longer had time to wait, the angel was ripping the head of his 8th vamp, there were only 7 left, he saw the tall guy pin down a girl who had not wanted this for herself and because of her pleads the young man hesitated an she got the better of him for a minute. He saw that the shorter one, of what he now was sure were the Winchesters not leaving the young woman out of his sight so he had no choice but to get into the fight himself.

Edmund jumped Dean but Dean was too quick and got him off quickly, both men stood now facing each other. And without knowing it, they were fighting for the same women.

'Winchester, I gather?' Edmund asked while both were circling each other.

'In the flesh. Suicidal?'

'Maybe a tad, but I think I found my second breath,' Edmund replied grinning. And for a fleeting second his eyes darted towards Lena, who was watching the scene in suspense.

'Oh you enjoy that breath now, cause it ain't gonna be in you much longer,' Dean said menacingly.

'No more blood needs to be spilled tonight, we can just go our separate ways,'

'Yeah what makes you think I'd be interested in a deal like that, we won don't you see?'

Edmund scanned the entire room in seconds, not enough time for Dean to catch him off guard, but he saw that although there were still a couple of vamps left, the other team definitely had the advantage. Castiel ripped off the head of one, Sam was covered in blood, had a split lip and puncture wounds in his arm but he was fine, Lena had the last one pinned but couldn't tear her eyes away from the two roosters circling the imaginary ring.

'Well, I don't know if you'd be interested, but he might though,' he said nodding his head towards Sam. Dean looked puzzled and more so did Sam. 'See this woman did not came alone this morning,'

Lena swallowed the bile that was obstructing her airway.

'You son of a bitch!' she screamed running towards him.

'Anyone moves the woman dies!' he yelled.

Sam was ready to faint at this point and all of them knew who he was talking about.

'What do you want?' Dean asked almost screaming out of sheer frustration.

'Her,' he said now nodding towards Lena not taking his eyes of Dean. Lena dropped her weapons.

Dean looked briefly at Lena and without a word she conversed her thoughts quickly.

'Take her, leave the other one,' Dean could kill himself for saying the words but she had been clear.

'Great, she's by the cars,' Edmund said now getting a hold of Lena.

'Sam go check,' Dean said but he was already rushing towards Julie, he ran his heart out and when he finally ran up the small hill he came upon an unfamiliar sight.

'He snuck up behind me, I swear,' Julie said standing next to a headless body.

'Shit,' Sam yelled and ran back to the barn screaming; 'Dean! She's alright!'

'What did I do?' Julie asked dumbfounded to no one in specific.

Lena didn't need to hear more, she had already been dragged up the stairs by that filth, she stepped on his insole and he doubled over, Lena recovered quickly from the tiny cut that his knife had made and she took out her own hidden one soaked in dead men's blood, she ploughed it into his stomach.

'I'm not property,' she said. But she had spoken too soon as Edmund grabbed her ankle and pulled making Lena loose her balance and topple off the second story.

Dean watched the entire scene as if it was in slow motion but still he could not be there in time to catch her or prevent it. She landed on the stairs halfway and rolled down the rest of them. Making her come to a complete stop at the foot of the stairs. Dean wanted to give the order but Castiel was upstairs so fast Dean didn't need to. Cas ripped Edmund completely to pieces, limb by limb.

Dean kneeled down by Lena's side.

'Fuck that hurt!' She said to Dean's big relief.

'You alright? Nothing broken?' he asked wiping away the hairs in her face and caressing her forehead like he hadn't done in a long time.

'I'm sorry, Julie should've never been here, I'm so sorry. She alright?'

'Sam said she's fine so she's fine, now I'll ask again, are you hurt?'

'No, I don't think so.' She said as she tried to get up. When she was on her two feet she could feel the damage. 'Well I might have sprained an ankle and broken a rib.'

'Nothing that can't be mended,' Dean said smiling broadly and for just one second he dropped all the act, the charmer, the kick-ass hunter, the joker,... and he showed the real Dean and he hugged her, just so relieved that she was okay. Lena reciprocated. And hand in hand they started to make their way to the exit. Until Lena screamed out of pain, fell to her knees and clutched her stomach.

'What's wrong?' Dean said checking her for shots or arrow or whatever could've hit her.

'I need a hospital, now!' she said her eyes filling with tears while she took on a foetal position amidst a mess of blood and body parts.

* * *

**Please review sweet, sweet readers...**

**oh and anyone have any suggestion to what should happen next?  
**


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